It Will Always Be You, Love
by Kelli83
Summary: Klaus is the big, bad hybrid that is causing so much problems in Mystic Falls, and instead of falling for Caroline...he falls for another woman. This woman happens to be Damon and Stefan Salvatore's little sister Claire. The hybrid and the younger Salvatore sibling have a history prior to the present day drama only she doesn't remember any of it. Klaus & OC
1. There's a Whole World

**A/N: Hi, all! This will be my first story that I have ever posted. I just wanted to give all of you a background of my story. I'm a Klaroline fan, but I always thought it would be neat if Salvatore's had a younger sister. I really love the Klaus/Rebekah relationship and I think the Salvatore boys would be the same way. Well, I thinking of a love interest for her and I thought that Klaus would be an interesting one. Plus, I just ADORE Joseph Morgan. Basically, I am using the Klaroline story line (hybrid bite, Original Ball, and so forth); however, I'm adding other stuff to it. I thought of doing an entire story, but I'm thinking drabbles of moments between the two that goes along with the ending of Season 2 and all of Season 3 might be better for now.  
**

**As for Caroline being a part of the story she may more and likely be, but I'm questioning if I am going to put her with Tyler or not. That is all in the future drabbles and not now, so there you go. So sorry Forewood fans as well. Please give it a chance!  
**

**I own nothing affiliated with Vampire Diaries and so forth. I hope you enjoy.  
**

**There is a Whole World…**

Klaus took in all the changes of the forest surrounding him. It had been many centuries since he had walked the lavish land now known as Mystic Falls. Here it was the year 1863 and so much had evolved in the place that had once been his home when his family had first arrived as humans.

The abundance of trees was still highly populated, but now there was a town with wooden structures in a place where he remembered those many hunting trips with his brothers.

His hand reached to touch a tree and sighed. His purpose for being here was not to reminisce of a time that had been a mixture of happiness and devastation. No, his purpose was simple…to recover the body of his dead mother and reunite it with his now daggered older brother Finn.

He had already been to the place that once was the village that he was raised in along with some compelled humans. He ordered them to dig up his mother's body and put her in the wooden casket that they had brought in on a horse drawn wagon.

While the humans took care of the tedious work, Klaus found himself walking off and reliving many memories of a life that he has tried desperately to forget.

He could hear the taunting of his father's voice as if it were right beside him.

"_You are an absolute waste, boy."_

"_What? No more laughter? It amazes me that you've survived this long!"_

"_Can you do nothing right? Useless of a boy you are, Niklaus."_

Shaking his head angrily, he let out a soft growl. Having been running from his father for nearly 900 years now, the hatred that he still felt for him remained forever strong and would not ever disappear till the man was dead.

He put his feet into motion and headed in the direction of the falls that once served as a bathing place for the villagers. As he neared, he heard the rumblings of the falls and even smelled the water from where he walked along with something else.

A human.

He felt his blood pumping. He could do with a drink. His fangs fell into place as he headed for the open area where he would find the human.

As he reached the break in the trees, his eyes fell upon a young, dark-haired, human girl who was sitting atop a log. Her back was slightly bent and her head was down as she was concentrating on something on her lap.

His eyes devoured her and he slowly went after his prey, but halted when he felt the very loud presence of another human.

"WHERE ARE YOU, GIRL?" a voice shouted from the distance.

The young woman's head jerked up as she let out a gasp and quickly she was to her feet. In her hand was a bound book and she quickly disposed of it in the hollowness of the trunk that she had been sitting.

During this moment of panic, Klaus was able to get a better look of the young woman. He found himself losing his breath at her beauty which rarely ever happened. Truth be told, it hadn't happened since Tatia many centuries ago.

She was exquisite. Perfect features, perfect _everything. _She looked to be only in her late-teens, but completely a woman in every form of the word.

During his silent observation, he heard her heart beating rapidly and her breathing quicken as she looked in the direction of the approaching footsteps.

What could possibly have this woman so worried?

His question would be answered by the appearance of a man, who had the same build as Mikael which made Klaus' blood boil. He also didn't like how frightened the woman obviously was of him as charged toward her. Her demeanor reminded him of the many encounters with his father.

"What the hell do you think you are doing," the man bellowed. "You were supposed to be back at the house promptly by noon! Missing brunch with Edward Fell is uncalled for young lady! He is to be you fiancée!"

Despite seeming to be terrified of the man, the young woman kept her strong composure, "I don't care if I have _missed_ brunch with that grotesque man! I will not accept his proposal, father!"

Her father's face filled with rage. "You most certainly will, you ungrateful child! With this marriage is a promise of more land to build another mill."

"I don't love him," she pleaded.

"I care not of your affection of him," the man growled dismissively. "Your only purpose, _existence _is to marry a wealthy landowner."

"Do you really care so little of me," she questioned softly. Her eyes burned with anger as she regained her voice. "I am not some piece of property that you can sell to the highest bidder. I have hopes, I have dreams! You care not of any of these do you, father? If mother were still alive she would never…"

Her words were cut off by the sudden slap from her father. The rough blow sent her to the ground with a yelp.

Watching this all unfold from the tree line, Klaus found himself in a predicament. A part of him wanted to speed over and rip the bastard's head off with no hesitation, but the other part remained frozen in spot. It was almost like he was looking at his own relationship with his own father taking place before his eyes.

"Don't you dare bring your mother into this, you wretched twit." Her father growled and took a heavy step forward causing her to scurry backwards, fearful. "If it weren't for you my beloved wife would be here." He jerked a finger down at her. "You listen to me, _girl_, you WILL marry Edward Fell am I clear? The faster I am rid of your useless being, the better." His eyes glared down at the young woman, now clutching her reddening cheek. "Mr. Fell will return for supper tonight. You _will_ be in attendance and on your _best_ behavior am I clear?"

Her voice cracked as she answered, "Yes, father."

The woman's father retreated back into the trees in the path he had taken earlier leaving the young woman sniffling in a huddled mess on the damp grass below.

Klaus waited till the father was well out of earshot before deciding to approach the young woman.

His intentions to feed on her and potentially kill her were long gone from his mind. He had a half a mind to track down her father and have him for his meal, but he found himself unable to succumb to the desire to hunt the man down.

Not wanting to startle her, he cleared his throat softly and her body jerked slightly as her head whipped over in his direction.

Her hazel eyes flooded with tears widened and she quickly climbed to her feet and dusted herself off the best she could as she fought to find her voice, "Can…can I help you, sir?"

"I do not mean to disturb you, miss," he said comfortingly. "I heard a lot of shouting from a distance and I came to make sure that everything was all right."

Her head bobbed up and down. "Fine. Everything is perfectly fine, thank you."

That's when he noticed the bright red mark on her delicate right cheek. His jaw clenched. He may be a predator who preyed on young women like herself for blood and admittedly killed a good few in the process, but this angered him.

What little humanity that he still had, and that was a very small bit, he still believed that no man should _ever_ lay a hand on a woman even if she disrespect him or spoke out of turn. Perhaps it had been due to his own feeling of belittlement that he felt from his father.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sweetness of her voice, "Sir, are you all right?"

He blinked and met her hazel eyes now free of tears. She was certainly a beauty. He smiled lightly, "Of course. I apologize. I tend to lose myself in thought from time to time."

"You talk different," she noted them covered her mouth in embarrassment. "I do not mean that in an insulting manner, sir! Truly!"

He chuckled, "It's quite alright, love. I'm not from around here…just passing through really."

"Are you from somewhere in Europe, sir?" Her eyes shone brightly with interest.

"As a matter of fact I am," he answered. "Ever been?"

She frowned and shook her head, turning and walking back over to sit on the log. "No, I've never been anywhere but here."

"Well, I highly recommend it," he said as he joined her on the log.

She turned to face him, "Where in Europe?"

"England."

"Have you been other places? Paris? Rome?"

He nodded with a grin, "Of course. They are very beautiful places to visit." He rather enjoyed the dreamy look that passed over her face as she thought of those places.

"I've always dreamed…" she started then must have remembered that she was in the presence of a stranger. "I'm sorry. You probably have better things to do than talk with the likes of me." She looked away.

"To be perfectly honest, love, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." He was being charming. This was his usual method of reeling in his victims, but with her it seemed more the truth than anything.

Her bright hazel eyes met his again, "What is your name?"

"Nik," he said without thinking. Normally Rebekah would be the only one he'd allow to call him that, but what is the harm? He already had the intention of compelling the girl afterwards. He reached for her hand to kiss her knuckles, "And your name, miss?"

Her cheeks reddened slightly, "Claire."

"Claire," he repeated letting it roll off his tongue. "Beautiful." When she doesn't respond, he apologized. "I'm sorry. Was I too forward by saying so? Are being courted by another?"

"Yes…and no…"

He raised a brow in question.

She chuckled lightly, "Well, I am promised to a man, but it isn't by choice."

"We all have a choice in life, love."

Her eyes lowered, "Not I. I am expected to marry a founder of this town."

"What would you do if you were to not do what is expected of you?"

Her eyes met his fiercely, "I would _live_. There is so much more that I want to do before I marry. I certainly wouldn't ever settle as a landowner's wife!"

"Then do it, love. Live your life the way that you choose! You have passions, right? Why hold back?"

"I don't have very many passions," she began then stopped and eyed him. Quickly, she turned and bent over to the whole in the trunk where he had seen stash away a bound book. She held the book closed for a moment and glanced back at him hesitantly. "I do have a few. I enjoy the piano and…" She opened the notebook and handed it to him.

Art apparently was her other passion. It was very clear by the looks of this notebook. Her sketches were mostly in charcoal and they were brilliantly done.

"I know I'm not very good, but I'm improving…"

"You have a natural talent…" he commented, his eyes rising.

"My father thinks it's an utterly waste of time so that's why I have to do in secret to appease him."

"You would really enjoy the art in Europe. I think you should say to hell with this life and go and live a much better one."

She chuckled bitterly, "My father would never allow it." Her shoulders lowered and she reached for the bound book.

Klaus's hands stopped her causing her to freeze and stare deeply into his eyes. "Let me let you in on a little secret, love…there's a _whole_ world out there waiting for someone like you, great cities and art and music, _genuine_ beauty. And you can have all of it…all you have to do is want it bad enough."

"I want it more than anything," she admitted shyly.

"Then _do_ it. Make it happen." He encouraged.

She stared at him a few moments and laughed. "It's easy for you to say that. You probably don't have to answer to anyone. You are free to do whatever you please. I can't do that. I don't have the money to just up and leave. My father would _disown _me. I'd miss my brothers terribly…" She shook her head. "I can't. I just…perhaps one day I will be able to see this world you speak of." Her eyes met his again and they were filled with hope. "Perhaps you can show me this world."

Klaus felt his inside soar at the request. This was a feeling that he never thought he could experience again—the feeling of being wanted. It was also a feeling that scared the living hell out of him. In fact, it caused him to suddenly remember who he actually was.

Standing quickly, he planned for his escape. "Perhaps, but I'm sure the man you are planning to be wed to would be a better match."

She stood at this, "I don't love him. I never will. He's an egotistical, greedy, and loathsome of a man who treats me poorly."

"How poorly," Klaus found himself asking with dark eyes. If it was anything like the way her father treated her then there will be some problems…major problems.

"I will nothing more than a warm body for his bed," she stated firmly. "Isn't that what most men are after?"

"Not all," he disagreed then swallowed. "I'm afraid that I must get back."

Her face fell slightly, "Oh. How unfortunate. I have really enjoyed our conversation."

"As have I," he admitted sincerely.

"Will I be able to see you again?" She questioned with great interest.

"Perhaps one day our paths may cross again." He found himself really hoping that were to be true, but he was never planning on returning. Suddenly the thought of perhaps changing her, making her immortal crossed his mind. It wouldn't be the first time that he had changed someone, but when he thought of her actually being changed into a vampire…it didn't feel right.

He really wanted her to at least remember this conversation between the two of them, but alas he knew what had to be done. "Clara," he began and he took a few steps toward her. He had her eyes locked to his. "I want you to forget that you met me, understand? You will remember the altercation with your father and you were upset and time got away from you." He swallowed. "You will remember my advice and _live_, do you hear me?"

Her head nodded, "Yes. I hear you."

He smiled sadly, "Live life to the fullest. Don't settle. Be who you were truly meant to be." He cleared his throat. "It was a pleasure meeting you…"

And he was gone, swept away without looking back. It had to be done. With Mikael continuously on his trail…he didn't need this distraction. He didn't deserve it.


	2. Decade Dance

**Okay, I just wanted to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It means a lot. This chapter takes place during 2x18 when Klaus has possessed Alaric's body. I had originally thought of doing these moments between Klaus and Claire chronologically, but I felt that a little suspense would make this story better. There is another encounter between the two that took place between the 1860's encounter and the present time period, but it will be uncovered later on.  
**

**Just background note on the character of Claire. She is forever seventeen (she was 16 when she met Klaus) in this story. I am making Stefan one year older. After she was turned by Katherine, she would have regain the memory of Klaus, but after over a 100 years and the fact that their encounter was brief, she only remembers certain aspects of his features, but remembers his advice fully. Hope that makes sense.  
**

**So without further adieu...  
**

**Decade Dance**

"Do you think he killed her?"

Damon's question caused Claire to stop staring out at her family property and return to where she and her brothers were waiting outside while Elena signed all the necessary papers inside the boarding house with the lawyer and Bonnie.

"Katherine? Probably," Stefan answered.

"It's not like she didn't have it coming," Damon said simply.

"Death seems like too easy of a punishment," Claire commented causing both their gazes to turn to her. "500 years is a _long _time to chase after someone. I just figure that he'd at least _torture _her a little bit. I mean if he's _anything _like what we have been hearing then…" She stopped speaking once she realized that her brother's were looking rather troubled by her admission.

Thankfully, she was saved by the front door opening revealing Elena and the lawyer.

"Thank you, Mr. Henry." As the lawyer walked from the porch, the three Salvatore's stepped toward the door, and waited.

Claire gave Elena and an expectant look, "Well? We can exactly just invite _ourselves _in."

Elena chuckled, "Right. I'm sorry." She smiled at Stefan and Claire. "Stefan, Claire, would you like to come inside my house?"

"I would love to. Thank you." Stefan said as he stepped over the threshold.

Claire does the same, "Don't mind if I do."

The three turned to face Damon still standing on the porch. He gave Elena a 'get real' look, "Really? What are we twelve?"

Claire spoke up, "I don't know, guys. I kind of like the idea of him out there and us in here."

Damon glared playfully at her, "Funny, little sister, but not _that_ funny." He looked back at Elena. "Anytime would be great, Elena."

"If I let you in, do you promise to obey the owner of this house?"

Damon gave her an incredulous look, "No."

Elena sighed, "Seriously, Damon. It's my way. You promised remember? I call the shots. There will be no lies, no secret agendas…any of this ringing any bells?"

Damon went to argue, but Claire cut him off, "Just agree, Damon. Even it is a bit of a stretch for you."

Damon released an exasperate noise, but nodded, "Yes, Elena, sure thing."

Elena nodded slowly, "Then please, come in."

He entered and muttered "Shut up" to both Stefan and Claire who were both grinning widely.

Bonnie rejoined the group and handed Elena her jacket.

Stefan eyed the two of them and addressed Elena, "Hey where are you going?"

"To school," Elena answered as if it should have been obvious.

"Oh boy," Claire said lightly.

"No, no, _no_," Damon began. "We didn't just create a safe house for you to _leave_ it!"

Stefan nodded, "Yeah guys. Klaus is out there. We know that now."

Elena gave him a quizzical look, "But where? Where _exactly _is he? No one knows. Look, I appreciate what you guys are doing, and yes I will sleep better at night knowing that I'll be safe, but I refuse to be a prisoner here."

"Valid point," Claire reasoned, but not completely comfortable with the whole idea entirely.

Elena gave her a grateful look before looking at Damon, obviously waiting for a rebuttal.

He held up his hands in defense, "Your way, Elena."

Bonnie spoke up, "Don't worry. I'm ready. If he decides to show his face, I can take him. I know how."

"So, there you go." Elena said with calming tone. "The way that I see it, being with Bonnie is the safest place I can be right now." She looked at Bonnie. "Let's go."

When they headed for the door, Stefan scoffed and gave both Damon and Claire a look before calling out to Elena and Bonnie's retreating form, "Wait up. We're coming."

Claire spoke up, "Hold up…_we_?"

Stefan smiled, "If I have to go through another day of high school then you do too. Besides, we've been skipping way too much lately."

"Because it's pointless," Claire argued. "What is left for us to learn? Besides teenagers these days are too _annoying_."

"Suck it up. Let's go." Stefan said and tugged her toward the door.

"Have fun, kids!" Damon called out to them for which was returned by a quick reply of "Bite me" from Claire.

* * *

As he walked down the halls of Mystic Falls, Klaus just couldn't get comfortable in the body of Alaric Saltzman. Not only was the history teacher an entirely different build, the man obviously lacked a lot of style and finesse.

He rolled his neck a few times and then realized that he didn't have any clue where the man's classroom was. He was wandering aimlessly around the school. As he rounded the corner, he nearly collided with another figure.

He swiftly avoided the collision and grinned widely when he seen just who the other person had been. His eyes quickly raked over the beauty of the woman standing before him.

"Easy there, Ric," Claire Salvatore said chuckling.

"Sorry about that," he said trying to keep his voice even and trying not to make it obvious that he was ultimately just _checking _her out. "Heading to class?"

She gave him a puzzled look, "Uh yeah, _your_ class, Ric." She eyed him. "Is everything okay?"

He nodded, "Sure. Why do you ask?"

"Because you're heading in the opposite direction of your class," she pointed out. "Long night?"

He chuckled lightly, "You could say that." He held a hand out toward the direction of where he had just walked from. "Shall we?"

She nodded and thankfully led the way. It was a short ways and they happened to the reach the door of the classroom just as the bell rang.

"After you," Klaus said waving her forward.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Saltzman." Claire grinned and entered not knowing that Klaus watched her till she found her seat directly behind…his doppelgänger.

He cleared his throat and entered, "Hello, class." He walked over to the desk and picked up Alaric's lesson plan book. "What are we learning today?"

A female student spoke up, "With the decades dance tonight, we have been covering the 60's all week, Mr. Saltzman."

He dropped the book back onto the desk, "Right, the, uh sixties." He let his eyes pass over his doppelgänger again. He turned to the board and wrote "the 60's" on it. He cleared his throat. "So, the sixties…hmm wished there was something good I could say about them, but truth be told they kind of sucked."

"Here, here," Claire's voice spoke up in agreement. This made him smile and he turned to glance over his shoulder at her.

"Care to elaborate, Miss Salvatore?"

"I have always sort of been a fan of the 20's myself, but alas Caroline Forbes _is_ head of the dance committee and I couldn't sway her into making tonight's decade dance geared around the 1920's." With a smile, she tilted her head at him. "Sorry, Mr. Saltzman, please continue."

"Thank you, Claire." He turned and addressed the rest of the class. "So, something interesting about the 60's…well there was the Beatles. They made it bearable. But, what else…uh there was the Cuban Missile thing, and the fact that we walked on the moon. There was Watergate."

Elena spoke up, "Watergate was the seventies, Ric." A few murmurs from her classmates made her stutter out, "I mean Mr. Saltzman, sorry."

He chuckled a bit, "Right. It all kind of mushes together up here, the 60's, and 70's…thank you, Elena."

* * *

"Do you think Ric was acting a bit weird in class today," Claire asked Elena as they stood in the lunch line to pay with their trays in hand.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked giving her a confused look.

"He just seems _out_ of it."

"A lot went down the other night with the whole Isobel thing. Jenna isn't talking to either of us. I just wish I could just tell her everything."

"Well, maybe you can now. It's gotten to the point now that the safest way we can keep her and your brother safe is if they know everything."

"I don't know," Elena whispered and soon the two paid for their lunches and headed over to a table where Bonnie and Jeremy were sitting.

From the sound of it, Claire assumed they weren't having a pleasant conversation.

"…and if you tell anyone, I swear…" Bonnie was saying as they slowly approached.

"What? What are you going to do?" Jeremy countered before Elena and Claire finally reached the table.

"Hey, Jer. How are you doing with the whole living alone with John thing?" Elena asked over the obvious tension.

"It's certainly not ideal," Jeremy admitted before getting up.

"Have you heard from Jenna?"

He shook his head, "It appears she is still staying on campus." His eyes looked to Bonnie before putting them back on Elena. "Look, I'm going to be late for class…" He wastes no time leaving.

Elena takes a seat beside the witch while Claire sat opposite of them, "What's up with him?"

"Yeah," Claire spoke up eying Bonnie. "Sounded like you two were having a bit of a disagreement about something."

Bonnie met her gaze briefly before answering Elena, "I just told him that he had to dress up for the dance tonight and he got all uptight."

"Oh," Elena said laughing slightly.

Over Elena's shoulder, Claire caught the arrival of the girl from their history class…Dana-something another.

"Hey, Elena, there you are. Okay. This is going to sound really weird, but this really hot guy just asked me to ask you if you were going to the dance tonight."

Bonnie gave the girl an incredulous look, "Uh tell him that she has a boyfriend."

"Well, you could at least meet him. He'll be at the dance tonight. Look for him. His name is Klaus."

When Dana spoke the name, Claire nearly choked on her water just as Elena's face fell.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

Claire's eyes quickly darted around the cafeteria looking for any sign of anyone that could be Klaus when Dana repeated, "His name's Klaus. I know the name is stupid, but he's really hot."

Claire quickly looked to Dana again, "Compulsion." She snapped her fingers at the girl. "Hey, where is he now?"

Dana blinked and looked around, "Uh I don't know." She looked to Elena again. "But he wants to know if you'll save him a dance tonight. How cute is that?"

"Yeah, _adorable_," Claire commented dryly watching the girl head off. "I'm going to go and see if I can get any other information from her." She looked at Elena. "Call Stefan and fill him in." When Elena nodded, she stood and went after Dana.

* * *

Klaus arrived at the Salvatore Boarding house shortly after being called by Damon Salvatore himself. He stopped at the door and wondered if he should knock or just walk in. Perhaps both would suffice. He knocked lightly and pushed open the door and found the group consisting of Damon, Stefan, the doppelgänger, and the witchy best friend standing in the foyer.

He hesitantly took a step forward hoping his warlock had been correct to assume that he would be able to enter the house with no problem. Indeed he was able to.

"Hey, there you are," Damon spoke up.

"Sorry, I'm late." He said in apology before joining the group, quickly taking notice that the lovely Claire was nowhere to be seen. "So, what's going on?"

"First things first," Damon started. "I need you to put my name on the chaperone's list for the dance tonight. Klaus made his first move."

Klaus went to respond, but the opening and closing of the front door stopped him immediately sensing the arrival of Claire. His eyes watched as she closed the door behind her and came to stand beside him.

"What'd you find out from Dana?" Stefan asked her.

"Absolutely not a damn thing," Claire answered with a sigh. "Apparently, not only did Klaus compel her to say those things to Elena, but compelled her to forget his identity as well. So, it was a complete waste of my time. And I _must _say trying to talk to a teenage girl and keeping her _focused_ on the task at hand was not an easy feat. Seriously teenagers these days…I never wanted to stake myself so much especially after enduring _that_ conversation."

Shaking her head, Elena spoke, "Okay, so we find him in then what. What's our plan of attack?"

"Me," Bonnie answered causing all eyes to be on her in wonderment. "I'm the plan. He has no idea how much power I will be channeling. If I can find him, I can kill him."

Everyone around looked impressed by this confession, and Klaus spoke up calmly trying not to seem too fazed by the realization that the witch was packing a lot of punch, "That's not going to be that easy." Everyone looked to him. "I mean he is the biggest, baddest vampire around, right?"

Damon agreed, "Alaric has point. I mean, what if he-?" He quickly rushed upon Bonnie, but she simply held a hand up and threw him across the room using her new powers without even laying a hand on him.

Klaus felt a bit of panic run through him as Stefan gave Bonnie a look, "Well, I was impressed."

Claire quickly agreed, "Uh yeah so was I. Can you do that to him again? I rather enjoyed that."

The witch began speaking again, "It doesn't matter if he's an Original. I can take down anyone who comes at me." She glanced over to Elena with determination in her eyes. "I can kill him, Elena. I know I can."

The doppelgänger looked confident in her little friend and Klaus did not like the look of that _at all_. He had just spent over 500 years hunting Katerina down because his hopes of breaking the curse were destroyed by what he thought was the last Petrova doppelgänger was no longer a human and useless. He eyed the current one standing just feet from him. He was not just going to let this one go. His eyes moved to her witchy friend. No, he would have to get rid of that one or his plan will be no more.

"So, this will all be going down at the dance," Claire asked having missed the beginning part of the conversation. When she got the confirmation, she sighed, "Well, great. That means I'm going to have to pull out all of my suitable 60's attire from the attic." She looked to Bonnie and Elena. "You two are more than welcome to anything that I have up there."

* * *

After Maddox's did his warlock duties in making the history teacher's body capable of withstanding the witch bitch's new powers, Klaus found himself walking into the dance dressed in what little vintage clothing Alaric had in his apartment.

When he stopped to quickly compel Dana to do a simple favor for him, and her date Chad who he decided to recruit for his own plan of attack, he danced his way through the dancing teenagers to stand by the refreshments. He stood keeping a look out for the Salvatore's, his doppelgänger, and the rest of the crew to arrive.

Over the crowd he saw them enter and he grinned. They truly had no idea what they were in store for tonight. He liked the elements of surprise. It is what has kept him alive this long. After assuring that every one of their little group was in attendance, including his doppelgänger, he allowed his eyes to fall upon Claire.

She was completely decked out in her 60's fashion which consisted of orange and white checkered mini go-go dress with matching white, patent knee-high leather boots. Her dark hair was pulled back by a white hand band and flip out on the ends.

She looked very delectable and much like she been when he first met her back in the late 1800's. His eyes slowly traced down to her bare legs. Obviously, he was seeing more skin tonight than in the past.

The only good thing that can be said about Katerina Petrova is the fact that she took it upon herself to make Claire into a vampire. It gave him a better opportunity of reuniting with her when before it seemed impossible unless he were to do the deed himself.

His attention was taken momentarily off of Claire when he heard Dana's voice over the microphone. "Thanks for being here everybody. We have a special shout-out tonight."

With a grin, Klaus looked back at the group who just entered the gym, not wanting to miss a single minute of their reaction.

Dana continued, "This is for Elena…from Klaus."

The doppelgänger looked stunned which was exactly the reaction that he was hoping for.

When the song began playing, Damon and Claire made their way over to him.

"Special dedication, huh," he commented as the three stared out at the dancing crowd. "The guy's a little twisted."

Damon snorted, "I'm not impressed."

This got Klaus' attention. "No?"

Damon shook his head, "Let me know if you guys see anything out of whack."

He watched Damon head away in the direction of Stefan and Elena, leaving Claire by his side. "Your brother doesn't seem to be taking this situation very seriously."

Claire chuckled, "And that surprises you? You know as well as I do that it's all just a front. Believe me when it comes to Elena…he is completely focused on the task at hand just like Stefan."

"You know your brothers well." His eyes met hers before trailing down to take in her attire. "I must say Claire that you surely embodied the era 60's."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "I look ridiculous! I can't believe I actually _wore_ this back in that time." She shook her head and he watched her staring at the dancing couples.

"How about a dance?" he questioned without thinking.

Her head swung in his direction and chuckled, "Yeah, _okay_."

When she chuckled again, he asked confused, "What?"

"Ric, let's not do anything that will either get you fired or put into jail. Come on, Ric, to these people you're the teacher and I'm the student." With another chuckle, she patted his chest lightly. "Find me if you find anything peculiar."

He watched her leave and was disappointed. Sure, she was right, but still he would have given anything to pull that body close and let loose a bit.

* * *

Claire was getting a cup of punch when Alaric suddenly appeared at her side, looking rather apprehensive about something. "What's up?"

"I think I found him."

Her eyes widen slightly, "Where?"

"He walked out into the hall. Look, I don't know for sure if it's him, but I've been keeping my eye on this particular man who I don't recognize, so I doubt he's on the chaperone list."

She nodded slowly and let her eyes dart around the gym looking for her brothers. "We need to tell the others."

"And risk losing him? Look, I think we should just go and investigate first and if we are certain its him, I'll go after the others." He reached for her arm. "Come on."

She allowed herself to be swept out of the gym, but she still felt uneasy with it. Yeah, she could take Klaus on to an extent, but Alaric wasn't strong enough.

She shook off all of that as they entered the hallway. "Did he go this way?"

"Yeah, I think so." They started walking in the direction that he indicated and he spoke again. "He couldn't have gone far."

"It'd be nice if we knew who the hell we were looking for," Claire softly said, keeping her eyes peeled.

"Perhaps, what you've been looking for has been closer than you thought."

Claire's brows furrowed and she slowly turned around, "What the hell does that…"

The last thing she remembered was Alaric saying, "I truly hate to have to do this, love…" before she felt her neck snap and everything went black.


	3. Trusting an Original

**A/N: I am so sorry for the delay. I'm a school teacher starting at a new school so I have been BUSY getting ready for the beginning of the school year. So, please have patience with me from here on out. As for this chapter, it is a bit of a filler chapter-a long one, but its mostly a set-up for the next one. I have the rest of the story mapped out and so I hope I won't run into any kind of writer's block. I love the character of Elijah and I wanted to incorporate him in this. He is at no means another love interest for Claire, but later on in the story they will have a common respect for the other. Okay, so without future adieu...**

**Trusting an Original**

The next day, Claire hopped back into her SUV after compelling her way into the blood bank that was located about 50 miles north of Mystic Falls. The house was running low on blood bags and so she took it upon herself to go by and grab some. At least she felt useful by doing so.

She rubbed the back of her neck as thought about all that went down last night at the decade dance.

After Alaric/Klaus had been the one to snap her neck, she pretty much was out for the count when the "showdown" occurred between Klaus and Bonnie.

Klaus was on the preconceived notion that Bonnie had died as a result of using all of her powers, but the Bennett witch had lived and was now hiding out in the Witch's Burial house with Jeremy.

Now, the group was waiting for the moment when Klaus, the _real_ Klaus would show his face again.

Claire was dreading that moment. Truth be told, she wasn't very confident in the plan that Bonnie would be able to defeat Klaus. There was a flaw in the plan either she would die or Elena would die. It was simple _someone_ was going to die.

She could already run the scenarios in her head. First scenario: Bonnie would have a showdown with Klaus, she will essentially die after using all of her powers, and there is that possibility that Klaus could still survive. Which brings up scenario number 2: Elena, in hopes to avoid Bonnie having to "sacrifice" herself, will in return _sacrifice _herself and since both of Claire's brothers are in love with her—they will try everything in their powers to protect her, and as a result will get themselves _killed_ in the process.

Claire released a breath. No matter how all this went down…someone was going to die. It was inevitable. It was incredibly devastating, but alas these were the odds they were up against as they forged onward to try and stop Klaus.

It only took Claire less than a half hour to get back to Mystic Falls and soon she was pulling into the Boarding House driveway. After turning off the vehicle and then grabbing the cooler of blood bags, she climbed out and headed to the porch.

However, she stopped halfway up the steps when she saw a very haggardly dressed man standing outside her opened entryway. The man jerked around and Claire nearly dropped the cooler in her hand upon the sight of Elijah, the Original who was _supposed_ be neutralized in her family's basement.

Her eyes darted quickly to Elena who was standing inside the house looking wildly at her. Again Claire's eyes went to Elijah and noticed the object in his hand.

He had the dagger!

Claire's eyes flashed back to Elena who was signaling her keep quiet. Right, quiet, her brothers hear meaning that Elena was doing this _behind _their backs.

"_Are you CRAZY?" _Claire whispered intensely even using the hand signal to elaborate her disproval.

Calmly, Elena whispered back, "He might be able to help us."

_Oh sweet Jesus_, Claire thought as she decided that she should put the cooler down or she might find herself throwing it at Elena. So, this was Elena's other solution. With wide eyes, she whispered fiercely, "Can we trust him?"

Elena nodded quickly.

Claire eyed the Original before her. He looked horrible, naturally especially after things that Damon put his body through. No, there was _no_ way that he was going to look past them _daggering_ him.

"Claire, please," Elena begged lowly. "I _need_ to get him out of here."

Dragging a heavy hand across her face in anguish, Claire nodded, and said in a whisper, "Fine. I'm coming with." When Elijah eyed her and looked like he was about to refuse her joining them, she stopped him, "I'd rather _you_ kill me than _them_…so I'm coming. Let's go." She waved Elena out and reached down to grab the cooler. She had a feeling that they would need this.

Several minutes later and with Elena at the wheel, she pulled to side of the road while Elijah sipped on a blood bag in the passenger seat.

From her place in the backseat, Claire spoke up, "Just FYI…it was probably not wise giving him the blood bag." Elena flashed her look. "I'm just _saying_…now that he's all juiced up I don't exactly stand a _chance_ against him. Now, before I might have been able to hold my own. Granted, it might have been very minor, but hey it was a chance. Now, you've rendered me _useless._"

She heard a chuckle coming from the passenger seat.

"Great," Claire snorted. "He's amused. This is amusing to him!"

"Claire, calm down." Elena said and turned to face Elijah. "You look better."

His throat cleared. "Where did you acquire the dagger?"

"Look, Elijah, I will tell you everything…"

"Not wise," Claire put in. "But please continue to sign away our fates."

With a sigh, Elena continued, "But we have to work together. Elijah I need your word."

Elijah gave her a hard look, "Your ability to make demands has long passed."

"No demands," Elena assured quickly. "I'm offering you my help and in return I want yours."

Elijah eyed her, "Why should I even consider this?"

"You need my help to kill Klaus, and I in return need yours."

The inside of the SUV filled with the vibrating sounds of Elena and Claire's cell phones ringing.

Elena pulled hers out and glance back at Claire, "Stefan."

Claire glanced down at hers, "Damon." She looked at Elena hopefully. "Please trade with me. He's less likely to _yell_ at you."

Elena pressed her phone to her ear, "Stefan."

With dreadful look, Claire answered her phone calmly, "Hey, D. What's up?"

"Have you seen Elena?"

"Perhaps…"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked sharply. "Are you_ with_ her?"

"You will be happy to know that Elena is perfectly safe and no harm has come to her…or me if you're at all concerned." She braced herself for what mostly likely to come.

"_Are you out of your GOD FORSAKEN mind? You just LET her take off with an Original?"_

"Yeah, but…" she began, but was immediately cut off.

"_This has to be the STUPIDEST most IDIOTIC thing that you have ever done! Get her ass back here NOW!"_

"Damon, just listen—"

"_NO, you LISTEN! If you don't bring her back NOW—"_

Angrily, Claire hung up in the middle of her brother's threat and grumbled "What an ass." She glanced toward the front and found Elena hanging up too. "I gather Stefan is _obeying_ your wishes. Don't expect the same from Damon."

"It's going to be fine," Elena assured her.

Claire snorted incredulously, "They're going to kill me, Elena, let's not sugar coat it."

"They will not," Elena argued.

"Oh, no you're right. Stefan will just hate me for about a century, but Damon…he _will_ kill me."

Elena addressed Elijah, "I am right to trust you?"

Claire snorted from the backseat, "Honestly, Elena, trusting a vampire is _never_ smart." When Elijah turned to flash a quizzical look at her, "Don't deny it. We may preach that we are noble and would never break a deal, but we are _always _looking for a loophole. It's our nature am I correct?"

Elijah looked to Elena, "I'm afraid that Miss Salvatore speaks the truth. However, I am still having doubts of your loyalty, Elena. For the meantime, I will go along with this, but first I must request both of your cell phones."

Suddenly, Claire's phone went off again and she glanced down. Damon's name flashed across the screen and she chuckled uneasily. "I'm just going to let this one go straight to voicemail." She quickly pressed the ignore option then put her phone on vibrate before handing it up to Elijah who pocket both phones into his jacket pocket.

"He's here." Elena said to him.

"Klaus is here?" He seemed rather surprised by this.

Elena nodded, "He's taken over Alaric's body."

Elijah scoffed, "Of course he has…it's one of his favorite tricks."

"Well, what are his other tricks? What's he going to do next? You know him."

"That I do," and Elijah went silent as he stared out the window.

Elena flashed a curious look back at Claire who shrugged and then mouthed, "_Perhaps he is plotting our deaths?"_

Elena gave her an exasperated look, and Claire held up her hands in surrender.

"So," Claire spoke aloud. "Maybe you'd like to get out of those clothes and into something less scorched?"

Elijah's head tilted downward and he responded, "Yes. I do believe a change of attire would be suitable." He motioned to Elena. "To the Lockwood's."

"Uh…okay?"

When they arrived at the Lockwood's estate, Carol was just heading out. After a few words were exchanged between her and Elijah, he quickly compelled her to let him borrow a suit from her late husband, and he headed up the stairs to change.

"We could try and escape now," Claire offered lowly. "It probably _wouldn't_ work and it'd probably end with me dead, but hey…"

"You're just _full_ of positive thoughts," Elena stated sarcastically.

"Well, after having your neck snapped by one Original, can you really blame me for having some trust issues? Not all of us were given your gift of _forgiveness_."

"Elijah is different," Elena argue softly.

"He was still in _cahoots _with Klaus at one point in time, Elena." She straightened immediately when she felt the presence of Elijah.

"You really should listen to your friend," Elijah said simply. "Your faith in me, Elena, while endearing, is a bit naïve. Yet I still am a man of my word. No harm will come of you or your friend as long as you live up to your end of the deal." He motioned to the sitting room. "Shall we, ladies?"

A half hour later…

The information that Elijah gave about origins of Klaus was very helpful and completely messed up.

Some of the things they had learned were:

Klaus is Elijah's brother…_rather _half-brother

The Originals were once human, but that's all that he was willing to share

Nothing can _kill_ Original except for a tree that had been burned by their family. _SWELL_.

Sun and Moon curse…completely 100% _fake_.

However, there _was_ still a curse placed upon Klaus.

After the buzzing of _someone's_ cell phone, Elijah sighed and pulled it from his pocket, "You're phone will not stop its _incessant _buzzing," he offered it to Elena. "Answer it please."

"Stefan? What? No, no, no, I'll be right there." She hung up and looked at Claire. "Klaus went after Jenna." She looked at Elijah. "I have to go."

Elijah shook his head, "I'm afraid that wasn't part of today's arrangement."

"She's my family, Elijah. I will be back. You have my word."

"That doesn't mean anything until you live up to it," he stated curtly.

Claire spoke up, "I'll stay." Both Elena and Elijah looked surprised at this. She glanced at Elijah, "Considered it an act of good faith. I mean Elena will definitely return if I am still here." She looked at Elena next. "I'd rather avoid the wrath of my brothers for just a tad bit longer. Go, check on Jenna. I'll be here…hopefully with my body still intact."

Elena nodded and gave Elijah a questioning look, and he said, "I promise that she will be here in one piece upon your return."

_Yay me,_ Claire thought as Elena said a quick thank you and ran to her car, leaving Claire with the scarily, calm Original.

"You can relax," he assured with small side-way smirk.

"I'm relaxed," Claire defended.

"Shall we keep walking?"

She shrugged, "Sure." The two began walking along the Lockwood property again and Claire spoke up, "I really want trust you."

He glanced over at her, "And what's holding you back?"

"He's your brother," she stated with a sad smile. "I mean _yeah, _my brothers are nowhere near perfect, but the idea of wanting to kill one of them…"

"My brother has taken a lot from me, Claire." Elijah stated firmly. "For a long time I have watched him take and do whatever would benefit him and not others. Can you say same for your brothers? Would they ever put their wants, their _lives_ before your own?"

"Okay," Claire said a bit caught off-guard. "Point made. Though in the case of Elena, I feel her life is far more precious to them considering she's still human."

At this, Elijah once again got that far-off look on his face.

Claire decided to simply just allow him to have his moment of remembering some distant memory and simply remained quiet.

He blinked and suddenly remembered that she was present, "I apologize…your brothers remind me of my brother and me, and Katerina."

"Katherine," she grunted. "Of course she'd get wrapped up in an Original love triangle."

He gave her tight grin, "Well, it was less of a_ triangle_ for Klaus's affections were fake. He only courted her to gain her trust."

"How charming," she stated dryly. She peeked over at him and found he at that look—the look of _regret._ So, he had some humanity left in him. Maybe Elena was right. Perhaps they could _trust _him. If given the chance maybe he would have saved Katherine because he cared enough for her to go against his brother's plans. "I'm sorry…" His head turned to her and he looked her questionably. "I'm sorry for doubting your loyalty and not stopping my brothers from daggering you especially when I felt the action was unjust."

"I value your apology," he said simply with a nod.

About thirty minutes later, Elena returned much to the shock of Elijah. "Welcome back," he greeted.

She looked at Claire who gave her a slight wave, "Yep still kicking."

Elena smiled and then looked to Elijah. "Tell me about the curse on Klaus," she said as she took off her jacket.

He began telling them about his family. When he spoke of the relationship between Klaus and their father, Claire found herself thinking of her _own_ father who despised everything about her. She didn't have much time to reflect too long before Elijah dropped the biggest secret of them all.

Klaus' father was from a werewolf bloodline.

"So, what does that make Klaus?" Elena questioned perplexed, "A werewolf…or a vampire."

"He is both," Elijah answered.

"A hybrid," Claire breathed and swallowed. "Holy mother of…" Never would she have thought such a thing would exist.

"As you can imagine a hybrid would be deadlier than any werewolf or vampire. And because nature would not stand for such an imbalance of power, the witches saw to it make Klaus' werewolf side to be dormant."

"That's the curse he wants to break?"

Elijah nodded at Elena, "If he were to trigger that side of him, Klaus would be able to sire his own bloodline—his own race, and in return endangering not just vampires, but…"

"Everyone," Claire supplied. Things just _suddenly_ got far more complicated. She sat back and listened as Elijah and Elena continued to discuss the things that would and would not kill Klaus.

After Elena let him in on the fact that Bonnie had the abilities of channeling the power to take Klaus, Elijah filled in another factoid.

He had found a way that could have saved Katerina back in 1492. Elena and Claire were hopeful at the solution of saving this era's doppelgänger. As soon as the plan had been made to head back to the boarding house, Elijah handed them both their jackets.

Elena looked to Claire, "Now are you glad I un-daggered him?"

Claire looked back at Elijah and sighed, "I'm convinced…partially." When Elena gave her an exasperated look, "Hey, I'm the easy one here, remember? You still have to persuade my brother, Gilbert."

When the three of them entered the boarding house, they heard loud crashing coming from the library. They hurried in to find Damon and Stefan gripping each other's shoulders and growling. It had been evident by the broken shelf that something obviously had gone down.

"Seriously," Claire muttered at the same time Elena shouted for them to stop.

The two broke apart and Damon spit out, "Now you invited him in?"

Elena spoke, "We have renewed the terms of our deal."

Damon looked not convinced, "Really?"

"The two of you will come to no harm," Elijah declared. "I only ask for one thing in return."

Damon snorted, "And what's that?"

Elijah glanced to Claire then back down at the brothers and replied, "An apology."

Claire glanced at her brothers knowing only one would have problems with this request.

The one that she and Elena could always depend on stepped forward, "I'm sorry for the part that I played in your death." Stefan said. "I was protecting Elena. I will always protect Elena."

"I understand," Elijah said in return.

Elena looked expectantly at Damon who was fuming.

"Damon," Claire began.

"_You_ keep your mouth shut," Damon growled his eyes narrowing. "You're stupid to think I'd forget your involvement in all of this."

"Lay off, Damon," Stefan instructed coming to his sister's defense.

"Kiss it, brother," Damon retorted. "She's more dim-witted than your girlfriend to actually think this was a good idea."

Claire felt his words cut through her. "Wow. Well, excuse me for thinking that at least _someone_ on our side shouldn't die and if that makes me weak then so be it." She looked to Elena. "Good luck convincing him." She walked from the room and headed upstairs, hearing Elena faintly.

"The sacrifice is going to happen, Damon," Elena stated firmly. "Bonnie will be able to kill Klaus without hurting herself. And Elijah knows how to save my life. I told you that I would find another solution."

She heard Damon's remark as she entered her room and plopped down on her bed. While she was on board with the new plan, she still wasn't sure that everything was just going to accordingly.

* * *

**First interaction with Claire and **real** Klaus will happen the next chapter. Also, I wanted to thank everyone that has reviewed the story so far. It will start picking up I promise. I know I have quite a bit of those that are following the story. If you don't mind just posting a quick review, I would really appreciate the feedback. **


	4. The Aftermath

**A/N: So, I just go through the first two days of school and I'm finally to focus a little bit on the story. I'm sorry for the delay, but I am an educator and that takes A LOT of my time. My hobbies will just have to take the backseat. I've been working on this chapter forever it seems, but here it is. I hope it satisfies all of you for a while because who knows when I will be able to get the next one. I have been working on future chapters and have even completed three, but there are two-three more before those begin, so bear with me.  
**

**Also, I have been trying really hard to edit these updates and some things may go unnoticed, so forgive me.  
**

**Please review. I have been guilty of reading stories and not reviewing and I've tried to stop that myself, so please leave me a quick review if you don't mind.  
**

**ENJOY!  
**

**The Aftermath**

To say that the following morning had been an eventful one would have been a complete _understatement_. Claire had found herself forcefully keeping Damon at bay against wall in his bedroom while their brother laid on the floor with a wooden stake jabbed in his abdomen.

Instead of going along with using the elixir that Elijah had in his possession, Damon thought _forcing_ Elena to drink his blood was the better way to go.

It certainly changed things and as result Elena was going to come back to life as a vampire going through transition rather than as her human self. This situation had some many repercussions as well. First, Elena was going to become something that Claire and everyone around her knew that she never wanted. The second flaw being the fact that Klaus was _not_ going to be thrilled by this fact when he found out.

So here she sat next to Damon with Alaric on his other side at the Grill with her non-alcoholic drink. Honestly, the whole teenage façade to fool the locals was very annoying especially when she could really go for a drink of alcohol.

"I screwed up," Damon muttered.

"You think?" Claire questioned incredulously.

"Shut up," he grunted.

A voice to Claire's side spoke up, "Now that isn't any way to speak to a lady."

The trio looked to the right and saw the sandy haired man standing just mere foot away from Claire. His eyes traced over her with interest before addressing the group again.

"Why so glum?"

Damon snorted, "Let me guess…Klaus, right?"

"In the flesh," the Original stated with a slight bow of his head. He glanced over to Alaric, "Thanks for the loaner mate." He looked to Claire again. "Claire, you are looking ravishing as always. I really wished we could have had that dance the other night. It would have certainly been worth your while."

Her eyes narrowed just as Damon stood and moved to take a protective stance between the two. "Any reason why you decided to stop by and say hi?"

Klaus met Damon's gaze, "I have been told that you and your brother both fancy my doppelgänger. I figured that I should pay you a visit and remind you to not do anything you'll regret."

_Too late_, Claire thought with a shudder and returned to listen to the conversation.

"There wouldn't be any possible way that you could, I don't know, postpone by chance?"

Klaus stared at Damon a moment before replying, "You are kidding." He looked to Claire incredulously. "He is kidding, right?"

"Unfortunately, no," she admitted.

"Come on," Damon said lightly. "What's a whole month in the grand scheme of things?"

With a clenched jaw, Klaus gave Damon a look of warning, "Let me be clear. I have my vampire. I have my werewolf. I have everything that I need and the ritual will happen tonight. So, if all of you want to live to see tomorrow then don't screw it up."

He left the trio and Claire commented, "Well, isn't he just a charming lad?"

Damon retook his seat and Alaric spoke up, "You're going to screw it up, aren't you?"

Damon looked at him, "Do you think if I took the werewolf out of the equation that she might get over the fact that I tried to turn her into a vampire?"

"I think that it won't matter because you'll be dead," Alaric told him honestly.

Damon winced slightly at this, but continued, "But without the werewolf, he won't be able to complete the ritual and I'll buy her another month before the next full moon."

"But, Damon, you'll _still_ be dead," Claire pointed out firmly.

Damon gave them both a look of annoyance, "Are you both going to help me or what?"

Claire casted a look of worry over to Alaric and both agreed to help, but with some hesitancy.

An hour later, Claire was following Damon toward the tomb where Katherine had told them that Caroline and Tyler were being held.

Apparently, Katherine decided to offer up another suggestion for the vampire to be sacrificed instead of herself. That was so typical of Katherine Pierce.

So, the two headed to the tomb and took care of the warlock that had been guarding the entrance thanks in a small part by Matt Donovan who had shot the warlock with wooden bullets. After Damon broke the man's neck, he knocked out the quarterback and he and Claire headed down into the tomb and freed Caroline.

With some persuasion, Damon reluctantly released Tyler and urged the werewolf to hurry to his family's shelter before the moon was fully up.

As they headed away from the area, Damon got a dreadful call from Stefan stating that Klaus had come for Elena, and Damon insisted that he would take care of it.

As soon as he had ended the phone call, Tyler was having a harder time dealing with his transformation and even came close to attacking Claire who was standing nearby, but Damon quickly intercepted him and for a moment Claire had thought he had gotten bitten.

After insisting that he was fine and bite free, Damon ordered for Caroline and Matt to head for the Lockwood cellar with the wooden bullets he had confiscated from Donovan, and he and Claire rushed off in different directions to ward off a possible advancing Tyler.

As she headed toward the location of the boarding house, she felt her phone buzzing from her pocket. She slowed momentarily to pull it out and press it to her ear after a quick peek at the screen. "Stefan?"

"We're heading over to the abandoned witch house," he said. "Are you still with Damon?"

"No, Tyler started going through his transformation and we had to bolt. I'll give him a call and head that way."

"Hurry, we don't have much time."

"Will do," she promised and ended the call to quickly dial Damon's number. It rang a few times before his voicemail picked up. _You know what to do, so do it_, it said. "Why aren't you answering? We're assembling at the old witch house. Meet us there as soon as you can." She hung up and quickened her pace.

She managed to make it to the house in no time and found her brother, Elijah, and Alaric standing outside. Both Stefan and Alaric wore very sullen faces.

"What's going on," she asked looking worriedly at the two of them.

"I need to go and talk to Jeremy," Alaric said lowly and leaving them standing there.

Claire looked to Stefan expectantly and he replied, "Damon called and told us that Klaus lured Jenna from the house and…she's being used as the vampire in the sacrifice."

Claire's face fell just as Bonnie joined them. "What's this about Jenna?" Bonnie asked obviously hearing part of the conversation. "Why would he take her?"

Elijah spoke up bitterly, "It's his punishment for meddling. Never underestimate Klaus. He always has a back-up plan."

"So, I assume that he has a back-up werewolf too and therefore our whole rescue attempt was a waste of time?" Claire questioned weakly. "We just involved Jenna, an innocent bystander, in this godforsaken mess!"

"That's why we need to go," Bonnie declared determinedly. "Right now before Jenna is sacrificed. I can kill Klaus myself."

Stefan shook his head, "If you use that much power you'll be dead. We've been through this. It's not an option."

Bonnie's eyes widened, "Neither is letting Jenna die!"

Elijah spoke again, "Stefan would agree with you." His eyes met Claire's briefly almost in apology before looking away again.

Claire threw a look at Stefan questionably.

Her brother cleared his throat. "We're going to offer over another vampire—one that he is going to want more." His eyes met hers and he added, "Me."

She felt her heart stop at that very moment and she felt her emotions immediately cloud her vision, "What?" She quickly shook her head and choked out, "_No way_…absolutely not, Stefan, you are not taking her place!"

Stefan took a step toward her and placed his hands on each of her shoulders comfortingly. "Jenna shouldn't die like this and you know it."

"And neither should you," she snapped the tears flowing. "No, there has to be another way to go about this."

"We're out of time, Claire," he told her gently. "Please don't fight me on this. It needs to be done." He placed a kiss upon her forehead before backing away and looking at Bonnie. "We need to find out where they are."

She nodded and they both headed back into the house.

When they were out of sight, Claire quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve and was presented with a handkerchief. Her eyes met the dark ones belonging to Elijah and she gave him appreciative smile and used the material to dry her eyes.

"I am very sorry for the trouble that my brother has caused," the other vampire stated softly.

She swallowed and gave him a hard look. "Promise me that his death won't be in vain. Promise me that you won't back out on your part in all of this. My brother _will not_ die just so you can save yours."

His face remained the same. "I give you my word, Claire. My brother will die tonight."

She released a staggering breath and tried to put her faith in him as best she could.

Minutes later, Stefan rejoined them. "Bonnie did the locator spell. They are at Stevens Quarry. I'll head over there first." He looked at Elijah. "You two will follow with Bonnie when its time."

"Just as the moon hits its final phase," Elijah confirmed. "She is to remain hidden until then. He cannot know that she is still alive."

Stefan nodded and looked to Claire. He gave her a comforting look and took a step toward the woods, but Elijah's voice stopped him.

"You are very honorable."

Claire felt her heart go heavy again.

"Are you?" Stefan questioned lightly as came back over to stand before the Original. "This whole plan is uh contingent upon your honor, Elijah."

"I won't fail you." Elijah told him and gazed over at Claire then added, "Either of you."

"Klaus is your brother," Stefan pointed out. "I know I've wanted to kill my brother over 1000 times and I've never been able to."

"He was not my only brother," Elijah stated with a slight sadness in his tone. "I had siblings…parents. I had a family. Over the centuries, Klaus hunted them down one by one and he took them from me. He proceeded to scatter them across the seas where their bodies could not be found."

Claire found herself sympathizing with him. So he did have a reason to hate Klaus—a very justified one.

"You want revenge," Stefan confirmed.

With a slight smirk, Elijah commented, "Sometimes there is honor in revenge, Stefan. I will not fail you."

"Please end this," Claire pleaded softly. Elijah nodded his head at her and she turned to watch as Stefan started walking towards the woods. She found herself calling out to him. "Stef, wait!" He turned and she rushed over to hug him tightly.

When she didn't release him right away, he pried himself from her hold, "It's going to be okay."

"It won't be," she sobbed. "Even if we stop him you are still going to be dead!"

"You have to let me go, Claire," he whispered gently. He pulled away from her and rushed off before she could further stop him.

"He did _what_?" Damon demanded sharply. He arrived only minutes after Stefan departed for Stevens Quarry.

Claire was leaning against a wall while Alaric stood before Damon. He answered her perturbed brother. "He wasn't just going to let Jenna die."

Damon's eyes flashed to Claire and looked like he was going to try place some blame for their brother decision to sacrifice himself onto her. When he saw the obvious sadness, he stopped himself and exasperatedly points out, "We have a witch. She kills Klaus. No one has to die."

"Except for Bonnie," Alaric corrected.

Damon's face showed anger as he bit out, "God, Stefan, damn it!" He reared around and punched through the wall that Claire was leaning against causing her to jump away.

When he pulled his arm from inside the wall, he seemed a bit woozy which made Alaric question in concern, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Damon spat. Then he sighed. "Well that's my brother for you—always cleaning up my messes." He walked towards the basement door with Claire following.

After Bonnie and John Gilbert discovered a spell that would save Elena from becoming a vampire, the witch quickly casted the spell on John and then quickly took care of Jeremy who insisted on joining them.

The three of them headed upstairs where Elijah and Alaric were waiting. "It's done," Damon told them and walking out the front door with Claire and Bonnie close behind.

"The weapons are in the car," Alaric said following Elijah toward the door.

"Bonnie is the only weapon that we need," Elijah said simply crossing the threshold with ease, but Alaric slammed against the invisible barrier keeping him inside.

He was less than pleased, but after few remarks from Bonnie, the foursome continued on.

The events that happened once they reached the quarry were unfortunately not what were according to plan.

As soon as Claire and the others had reached the quarry, they were already there to witness Klaus draining Elena's blood with a still very much alive Stefan fighting painfully where he laid trying to make his way toward them to stop it.

Beside her Damon stood stock still as his face filled with anger as he watched Elena's form fall to the ground just feet from where Jenna's dead body laid.

They continue to watch as Klaus stepped off the altar and wobbled a bit. Suddenly, they could hear him grunt and his body started contorting.

"He's transitioning," Claire stated and looked toward Bonnie and Elijah standing nearby.

"It's time," Elijah replied and Bonnie took off toward the rocky pathway.

Damon and Claire followed close behind as Bonnie began chanting which causes the torches to ignite and the flames to rise higher. She jerked her hands toward Klaus and the movement sends him flying in the air a few feet to crash back down to the ground heavily.

While she kept Klaus at bay, Damon and Claire rushed forward where Damon quickly broke the neck of the witch and then went for Elena. Claire headed over to Stefan and pulled out the remaining bits of the wooden stake that had been jabbed into his back.

He released a groan as she tossed the stake away. Damon carried Elena over and placed her beside him and he gasped, "Elena."

Behind them, Bonnie is still using her powers to elicit pain from an agonized Klaus who was screaming on the ground.

Stefan looked to Damon, "I need you to get her out of here!"

"What about you?"

"I'm not leaving until this is done," Stefan declared. "Go!"

Claire quickly helped Stefan to his feet while Damon bent down to pick up Elena's lifeless form. He leaves with her and Stefan and Claire go over to Bonnie who is relinquishing her final blows. She stops just as Elijah makes his presence known.

"Elijah?" Klaus gasped.

"Hello, brother," Elijah greeted emotionlessly before crouching down and plunging his fist into his brother's chest.

Stefan, Claire, and Bonnie stood nearby watching as Elijah put an end to this once and for all.

"In the name of our family, Niklaus," Elijah began strongly.

"I didn't bury them at sea!" Klaus cried out causing Elijah to freeze.

"What?"

"They're safe," Klaus insisted. "If you kill me you'll never see them again."

"Oh no," Claire breathed immediately seeing the hope enter Elijah eyes.

"Elijah," Stefan called out. "Don't listen to him."

Elijah looked briefly over to them and then back down at his brother who continued to plead. "I can take you to them. I give you my word, brother."

"Do it and I will take you both out," Bonnie declared coldly.

"You'll die," Elijah pointed out reasonably.

"I don't care," she bit out ready to perform the deed.

His gaze moved over to where Claire stood and he looked at her with remorse.

"Elijah," she began and she shook her head. "Don't."

"I'm sorry," he whispered as the three advanced forward. He quickly grabbed his brother and jumped through the flames, disappearing from the site leaving them standing there in disbelief.

"Loophole," Claire uttered as she stared at the flames, regretting putting her trust in the Original. He had proven her right—vampires were not to be trusted.

By the next morning, a lot had happened after the plans had gone awry. One good thing had occurred, the spell that Bonnie had placed upon John Gilbert worked and Elena came back with her soul still intact, but in return ending John's life.

At Jenna's funeral, Stefan and Claire would be informed by Damon that his time was limited after he showed them both the nip from Tyler that he had apparently gotten last night during the werewolf's transformation.

Stefan vowed to find a cure, but Damon simply requested that he didn't waste the time and made them both promise that they would not tell Elena. He left his siblings to digest their new predicament.

With the passing of the next two days, they found that their brother really did want them to just let him die for Stefan had to prevent Damon from bursting into flames in the living room when Damon had decided to step into the sunlight not wearing his day-light ring.. While Stefan pushed him hard against the wall away from the suns burning rays, Claire bent over to snatch his ring from the carpet.

In order to assure that Damon wouldn't further hurt himself, Stefan shoved him down and into the cellar, locking the steel lock into place.

However, it wouldn't be too long until yet another thing happens to damper their plans. While Stefan went off to meet up with Bonnie who was looking for a cure, Officer Forbes decided to ransack the boarding house where Claire and Alaric were keeping a close eye on Damon.

When Alaric was locked outside the cellar where the blood bags had been stored, Claire narrowly missed getting shot in heart by wooden bullets, but was still hit in the side and arm which sent her to the ground while Liz unlocked and entered the cellar where Damon had been vervained minutes before. "No," she called out as she was shot again by the same deputy, this time in the leg.

She heard a body being tossed against a wall and soon saw the blur form of her brother speed away, but not before he knocked out the deputy.

It took Alaric several minutes before he pried his way where Claire laid. She pleaded for him to leave her to go and find Damon, but he didn't listen. He bent down to help her pull the wooden fragments from her body while she made the quick call to Jeremy, warning him about Damon being on the loose.

Once all of the fragments had been dislodged from her body, he pulled her up and she quickly grabbed a blood bag from the freezer before following Alaric up the stairs.

Hopefully they would find Damon before he did too much damage. When the pair arrived at the park where _Gone with the Wind_ was being shown, they separated with Claire searching the crowd and Alaric heading towards the grill.

After nearly ten minutes of passing through movie watchers scattered about the grass, Claire was growing weary that she was going to find her brother. She pulled out her phone when she heard it buzzing and she quickly pressed it to her ear. "Elena?"

"I have him," she said immediately. "We're over…_Damon no_!"

Claire could hear Elena cry out and Claire looked around the park trying to locate the sound. She heard Elena's plea again and she rushed off in that direction finding Damon jerking away after he realized what he had just done.

Claire stopped at his side and glanced over at Elena who had two puncture marks in her neck. "Are you okay?"

She quickly nodded. "Let's just get him out of here."

After retrieving Damon and taking him back to the boarding house, Claire helped him into his bed with some assistance from Elena.

"You should go," Claire said to Elena. "He's worsening. He'll get more violent and I can only protect you so much."

"I'm not going anywhere," Elena said staring down at Damon.

With a sigh, Claire stared down at her brother who begun to sweat. "Fine, be back in sec." She headed into the adjoining bathroom to grab a wet rag. When she returned she found Damon pleading for Elena to go.

"I'm staying." She told him firmly.

He let out a scream and coughed. Claire rushed over and pressed the rag to his forehead. "Relax," she soothed. "Take it easy."

"I'm so sorry," he grunted. "I've always blamed you and Stefan for making me into a vampire…"

Claire felt herself choking up, "Damon, don't. That's ancient history…literally."

His eyes met hers and gasped, "I don't remember the last time that I told you I loved you or even showed you how much I cared. I think it was back when we were still human. I could have stuck up for you all those years when father was being such a dick to you, but I didn't…_I didn't_."

"You were in the same boat, D," she pointed out, reaching for his hand to squeeze it. "He wasn't exactly kind to either of us."

"Please forgive me, baby sister."

A tear slid down her cheek as she sniffed, "I forgave you a long time ago, brother. Now stop apologizing before I start thinking that you've found that humanity that you've been hiding."

He let out a pained chuckle before setting his sights on Elena. He swallowed. "No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice don't you see? I blamed him, but it was my choice."

Elena quickly took his face in her hands, "Shh."

"I made the wrong choice. Tell him. Please tell Stefan I'm sorry. Okay?"

"I will," Elena promised before looking at Claire just as Damon passed out.

"Stefan should be here," Claire said shaking her head. "Where the hell is he?" She pulled out her phone, but Elena's voice stopped her.

"Claire, wait..."

Claire looked at her in question, "What?"

"He went looking for the cure," she began.

"I know that, but there is no cure. We would have heard something by now." Claire argued and watched as Elena looked away, obviously troubled by something. "What are you not telling me?"

The Gilbert teen looked her way again. "He went to talk to Klaus. He knows what cures a werewolf bite and Stefan is hoping he can convince him to give it to him."

Claire's eyes widened at this, "Has he gone mad? Klaus isn't just going _hand _that kind of information over without a price!" She jumped from the bed and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Elena called out to her.

"To make sure both my brothers don't die today!" She turned around. "Look, there are some vervain filled syringes by the bed. The moment he starts talking crazy or going all vamp on you stick him, got it? Stick him and get yourself to Bonnie's. The last thing I need is both my brothers haunting my ass for letting something happen to you." Her eyes stared Elena down. "Swear to me that you will get yourself over to Bonnie's and not do anything that can get yourself killed…_again_."

Elena quickly nodded and Claire sped from the room.

Claire soon found herself stopping just outside Alaric's apartment door and she smelled the familiar smell of human blood. She went to forcefully open the door, but found it opening and she came face to face with Klaus.

"Claire, so lovely to see you here," he greeted with that conniving grin of his.

She merely glared. "Where's my brother?" She pushed past him and froze when she found Stefan standing at the bar in the kitchen finishing off a blood bag with reminisce of blood still left smeared on his chin. He dropped it to the floor below where at least six other blood bags laid. "No," she choked out. She rushed over and put her hands on Stefan's shoulder.

"I had to," Stefan said lowly, his head bowing in shame.

"It's okay," she assured him.

"He bargained for your other brother's life," Klaus filled in causing Claire to turn and glare at him. "My blood is the cure for a werewolf bite and I've sent Katerina to your home with a vial to give to him."

"Then what are you still doing here," Claire growled. "Haven't you taken enough from us?" She quickly handed Stefan a towel to wipe his face.

"Oh, don't be like that, love." Klaus said chuckling and approached where they stood. "Stefan and I came to an agreement and he is just upholding his end."

Claire's eyes returned to Stefan. "What's he talking about? What is he making you do?

"He's trying to bring _him_ out," Stefan told her, his eyes showing worry.

Claire jerked around to give Klaus a piece of her mind, but something caught her eye just by the door leading to what would probably be Alaric's bathroom. It wasn't just something, but _someone_ rather. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand when she saw the grey faced Elijah with a dagger protruding from his chest.

She found herself rushing to him and crouched down by his body. "Interesting," she heard Klaus say. "I figured you'd be happy to see him in this state considering he betrayed your side."

Claire's head turn to look over at him in disgust, "You promised him that he'd see his family again and you did this to him instead?"

"I'll keep my promise," he assured with a look of satisfaction on his face. She stood. "He'll see our family again just not anytime soon. I do believe he deserves time to _think_ about his disloyalty." He shrugged simply. "Maybe this will teach him a lesson."

Her eyes narrowed, "And why do you want my brother?" This caused him to smile which angered her and she charged him, but he quickly held her at bay.

"Careful, Claire…" he warned. "I don't want to have to use force to keep you detained. My patience is limited."

"Go to hell," she bit out pushing away from him and turned back to Stefan in sadness coming to realize that nothing could be done. She didn't have a chance against Klaus. If she would to try anything Stefan would just intervene and get himself killed too.

"It's okay," her brother said to her in comfort. "Damon is going to be fine now."

Claire slowly shook her head as she felt the tears stinging her eyes. Stefan approached her. "But I'm still _losing_ a brother in the end."

"I'll be fine," he declared as bravely as he could.

"Yes," Klaus spoke up. "I'll take real good care of your brother. Now, it's been a pleasure, but I feel it'd be best if you were to leave now before things further escalate."

When she felt his hand on her shoulder, she swallowed back the lump in her throat to growl lowly, "_Don't touch me_."

"It doesn't have to be this way, darling…" When his hand didn't leave its place, her eyes met Stefan's briefly and he went stop her, but she spun around with rapid speed to grip the hybrid's neck just as she felt the wooden stake hidden up her right sleeve slide down into her awaiting hand. She made her move and drove the stake upward and into his chest.

He released a loud groan as his body slumped forward against hers.

Into his ear now a mere inches from her lips, she whispered strongly, "I _said_ don't touch me, you son of a bitch."

He let out a rough chuckle and he was pushed away, "Bad aim, sweetheart. You missed the heart by inches." Her eyes held his as he wrenched the stake from his chest and let it drop to the ground.

"I wasn't aiming for the heart," she retorted plainly. "What's the point? It's not like there is a heart in there to stake." She took a step forward to lessen the distance between. "I want you to listen to me. Are you listening? If anything happens to my brother I promise you that I will _kill _you. And before you make some sadistic comment on how you are this all powerful hybrid and can't be killed let me just tell you this…" Her voice grew fierce and deathly. "I _will_ find a way. There is _always _a way to kill an evil monster such as yourself and I assure you that I will find it. When I do, I will kill you myself. Am I clear?" Her eyes bored into his for a few seconds longer before she pushed him away and stood before Stefan again.

"You have nerve," Klaus began with a wide grin which caused her to glower at him over her shoulder. "Perhaps I'm taking the wrong Salvatore with me."

Stefan quickly placed himself in front of Claire, "No, we had a deal. Let her leave her without any trouble."

"Making further demands, Stefan?" Klaus questioned lightly.

"No," Stefan said with a glare. "My sister is not part of it regardless of her actions."

"As you wish," Klaus relented. He looked down at his shirt and glanced upward at Claire. "It seems as though I should change before our journey." His gaze went back to Stefan. "Try not to do anything stupid." He headed in the direction of the bathroom.

Stefan turned back to Claire, "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Screw him," she growled. "Stefan, I can't just let you walk out with him."

"It's done," Stefan replied. "If I try anything, he'll just kill all of us. It was the only way to save Damon's life. I owed him that Claire. You have to let me go."

Tears pooled her eyes and he pulled her into his arms. "Stef…you know what he's asking of you."

"Yes, I know what I'll become." He pulled back. "It'd probably be best if you stayed far away."

She gripped his face, "It will be okay. Just don't lose yourself this time, okay? Do as he says, but don't forget who you are, Stefan. And if you do…" Tears fell from her eyes as she continued, "Come home to us. Please don't take off on me again like you did before. Not again. I don't care what you become. _You're my brother_. I'll love you no matter what. Do you understand?"

With tears in his own eyes, he nodded and kissed her forehead. "Go. Try and keep Damon from doing anything stupid."

She choked out a chuckle, "I am only so strong, Stefan." She reached down to grip his hand. "Take care of yourself. I love you."

He smiled sadly. "I love you too."

Giving his hand a final squeeze, she released it and walked to the door. She pulled it open and turned to look at him. He gave her a brave nod and she stepped out, closing the door behind her before she let out a sob.

When she returned back to the boarding house, she found Damon looking much better and sitting in the library sipping what smelled like bourbon. His eyes lifted at her arrival, he placed the drink on the table beside him, and he quickly stood.

"Where's Elena?" She asked looking around.

"She rushed home…something about Jeremy being shot." Claire's eyes widened at this. "No, he's going to be fine. Liz was aiming for me and he happened to be shot instead. Apparently the witch did some kind of spell, but all that doesn't matter. Where the hell is Stefan?"

"He's gone," Claire answered softly.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Damon questioned with narrowed eyes.

"He made a deal with Klaus for your life and he's paying off his debt," she replied, her voice cracking towards the end.

"I don't understand," Damon whispered disbelievingly.

"Klaus is trying to bring out the ripper and he's forcing Stefan to drink human blood." A single tear slid down her cheek. "He's gone, Damon. The Stefan that we know is gone."

Damon stared at her as he tried to process it all, and soon he was crossing the library where she stood crying and pulled her into his arms. "We'll get our brother back. I swear to you."

She nodded against his chest and he continued to hold her. "I don't remember the last time that you've hugged me. Are you turning over some kind of new leaf?"

"Don't get used to it," he said lightly and with humor. "The old Damon will be back soon enough."

******I hope that it was worth the wait. Thanks to all of those that review!******


	5. Chicago

**Hi all. I'm sorry that its been a while since I've updated. My job takes up a lot of my time and I've been exhausted after being around a bunch Pre-K kids all day. There isn't much going on in the chapter. The story has now reached Season 3 events so more Claire and Klaus are in the horizon. There is a very brief flashback which will answer whether or not Claire and Klaus met in the twenties...the outlook is rather good. ;) Please excuse any mistakes, grammar errors, and misspellings. I really tried to edit this but it's 3 AM and I'm sure I've missed something. Happy Reading! Please review! I love hearing your thoughts. It might motivate me to write faster!**

**Chicago**

Claire was up in her room playing a simple tune on the piano she had set up there when her cell phone buzzed from its place atop the lid. She stopped playing to grab it. On the screen flashed _Out of Area_ and she stared at it. Suddenly she was hopeful that it might be Stefan.

She pressed the screen and put the phone to her ear, "Stefan?"

"Not quite," said an amused, feminine voice.

Growling softly, Claire muttered, "_Katherine_. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was going to call Damon with this information," Katherine began. "However, I thought I'd give you the heads up first."

"Just spit it out," Claire said annoyed.

"I know where Stefan is," the other woman said.

Claire straightened, "And how do you know that? I would have figured that you wouldn't even be in the same hemisphere as Klaus."

"Oh, believe me. I could not be further away. As always I have people looking out for me."

Claire snorted, "And yet you'd double cross those people in a heartbeat."

"Better them than I," she said automatically.

"Is that like your catch phrase or something," Claire questioned coldly. "So where is he, Katherine?"

"Chicago. He and Klaus have returned to the Ripper's old stomping grounds. You do remember that particular Stefan, don't you?"

"All too well," she whispered. "Don't tell Damon just yet. Give me a bit of a head start, will you?"

"Fine," Katherine said then there was a pause. "I'm waiting for the thank you," she added pointedly.

"When hell freezes over, Katherine," Claire retorted and hung up.

Sliding off the bench, she stood then walked over to her closet to grab a few things and shoved them into a bag. After retrieving a few things from the bathroom, she headed out into the hallway and listened for Damon. She heard him in his bedroom more and likely busy with some blonde to keep his mind off their troubles, so she swiftly walked past and went for the stairs.

Minutes later, she was pulling away from the boarding house and soon was driving through town heading for the highway.

Her mind started thinking about the last time that Stefan had been in Chicago. It was right smack in the middle of the ripper days and he wasn't the Stefan that he had been before Klaus had gotten his hands on him.

_Chicago, 1922_

_At Daisy's Bar, Claire sipped her drink and turned to Stefan who had changed so much since she had seen him last. "I've missed you, brother."_

_Stefan smiled, "And I've missed you. What have you been up to besides spending all that quality time with our older brother? I still can't believe he would actually let anyone accompany him!"_

_She chuckled, "I know, but there was only so long I could handle Damon. He still treats me like a naïve child and I just had to get away. That was about a decade ago."_

_"So, what have you been doing since then?"_

_"Traveling," Claire answered with a bright smile. "I've just come from Paris, and before that I was in Rome, and before that Spain!"_

_He chuckled, "So, what brings you to Chicago?"_

_"I could not spend another decade without seeing you, Stef," she said with small smile. "Honestly, the traveling got lonely and so I've been trying to track you for the past few years, and managed to track you here." She gave him a concerned look, "Stefan, you've become careless in your killings."_

_Stefan shook his head. "Don't start. I'll tell you what I told you before. If you don't like who I am then you don't have to be around it." _

_She looked away, "Fine." She looked back at him, "I just don't get it. You were handling the hunger the last time I saw you. I thought Lexi got you off the human blood. What the hell happened?"_

_"Just drop it," Stefan pleaded. Then he smiled again and said, "Now tell me the _other_ reason you are here." He poked her side. "It's someone's birthday."_

_This made Claire smile. "You remembered." Her smile changed to a sadder one. "I'd be seventy-five today, Stef."_

_"Why do you even bother celebrating?"_

_She stared at him, "Until my vampire years surpass my human ones, I will continue acknowledging my birthday. It's what keeps me human in some aspects I suppose." _

_Stefan nodded slightly and held up his drink, "Well, here's to another year."_

_She knocked her glass against his and they both took a drink. "Thanks. Now where is my gift?"_

Claire blinked and found herself in the present again. The nearest airport was about an hour away in Richmond. She figured that she would compel her way onto a flight and she'd get to Chicago much faster giving her more time to find Stefan before Katherine told Damon.

Hours later, she found herself standing in front of Stefan's apartment door. When she arrived in Chicago, the first place that came to mind was his apartment, so she headed right over to check it out.

She tried the door, but found it locked naturally. With a slight twist, she broke the handle and pushed open the door. The inside of the apartment was exactly how she remembered it just a lot less dusty. It didn't look like anyone had stepped inside recently and she felt disappointed by this.

Her eyes crossed over the living/bedroom area into the kitchen at the hutch sitting there. She approached it and reached to grip the edge of it and pulled. The hutch swung to the side like a door revealing a small hideaway where Stefan used to store his alcohol.

There were still many bottles still lining the shelves with thick layers of dust surrounding them. Her head turned to the right and that's where she saw it, the long list of names.

_Back in 1922, Claire let her gloved finger trace over each name that had been written on the wall. She felt her insides clench as she read over the names of Stefan's victims._

_Yeah, she had killed many humans during her life as a vampire, but this list made hers seem minuscule. _

_Stefan poked his head in, "What are you doing?"_

_She turned around to give him sad look, "Why do you write down their names? Why do you want to remember every one of your victims?"_

_"I didn't bring you here just so you can judge me," he said as he grabbed a bottle from the shelf and disappeared._

_She walked out, "I could help you. You just need to have some self-control?"_

_"We've tried that before, remember?"_

_"That was when you just changed," she reasoned. "It took me nearly a decade to get control of the hunger. Now, I haven't killed a single human in nearly forty years."_

_"Good for you," he stated sarcastically. "I don't have that kind of control, okay?"_

_"So, what, you're going to continue this whole ripper thing and keep tabs on all the humans that you kill? How's that doing to your mentality, Stefan? I feel like I don't know you anymore…"_

_"You don't," he told her._

After checking out a few more places in Chicago, she was starting to lose hope until she found herself standing in front of what used be called Daisy's but was now known as _Gloria's_. She faintly remembered a jazz singer that had been named Gloria. She wondered if the establishment had been named after her.

Staring up at the sky, it was already dark and she knew Damon was more and likely on his way or had already arrived. She was thinking more of the latter than the first option. Katherine probably called him shortly after calling her and proving unable to keep her word. So, she didn't have much time to waste nor a plan to really go by.

She stepped inside and smiled at the familiarity of the place. Not much had changed and she let her eyes pass over the few patrons and let them settle upon the bar where two familiar figures sat.

Her heart leapt. There was her brother sitting alongside Klaus. She thought about keeping out of sight and just watching from afar, but she found herself approaching them and she came to stop on the other side of Klaus.

"Mind if I join you gentlemen," she questioned with a casual tone which caused both of them to turn in their seats.

The moment that he heard her voice, Klaus felt his heart stop. He spun around on his bar stool and there she stood looking magnificently stunning as usual.

"Well, isn't this an unexpected surprise," he commented and flashed a look at Stefan. "I thought you had warned your family to stay away."

"I did," Stefan stated firmly and gave his little sister hard stare, "Claire? What are you doing here?"

Casually, she leaned against the bar. "What? I can't come and visit the Windy City on my own accord?"

"How did you know we'd be here," Stefan asked giving her a serious look silently urging her not to continue acting all innocent.

"I can't reveal my sources," she answered simply with a shrug of her shoulders. "Besides, there were only a handful of places that I can remember you ever hanging out in. Daisy's happened to be your favorite." She motioned to Klaus's drink and asked, "Mind?"

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the glass and brought it to her lips and then downed it in one gulp.

Klaus could only watch her in awe. She had guts. This was a major turn on. He allowed his eyes to take her all in. She looked very good in the pair of jeans and knit top that she wore which she topped with a black leather jacket.

She licked her upper lip. "Hmm, what year malt was that? Early 1920's," she questioned conversationally placing the glass back down on the bar. She reached over to grab the bottle resting near it and read the label. "1918 close enough. So, who was the human who was paired with this? They tasted _divine_."

Klaus found himself smiling. "She was lovely and almost as beautiful as yourself."

She gave him a look of warning, "Flattery will get you nowhere with me." She looked to Stefan and nodded at the dusty bottle. "I see you've been by your place. Sorry about the lock. I forgot my key."

Stefan continued to not look amused, "Does Damon know that you're here?"

"Must I have permission from Damon?" Claire snorted. "I can make my own decisions, Stefan."

"Even if they are unwise ones," he commented pointedly.

"Hey, say the word and I'll let you gentlemen get back to your drinks," she said simply.

When her brother went to wish her farewell, Klaus quickly pulled out the available bar stool beside him, "Stefan, there's no need to be rude. Claire, please sit and join us for a drink." He watched her closely as she slid onto the stool and crossed those delectable legs of hers. "You are quite bold for showing up here on your own."

She snorted, "Well, considering between Damon and I, I _am _the most sensible one and can manage to communicate without the use of force."

At this Klaus scoffed, and he pointed out, "Do I need to remind you of _our_ last encounter."

She eyed him. "You _touched_ me. I gave you fair warning, so that doesn't count."

"It still hurt, love." He commented with a twinkle in the eye.

She rolled her eyes which stung a bit, but he tried not to let it bother him too much. He tried to remember nearly two centuries ago when her human self seemed to hang onto his every word.

His focus returned to her and smirked a bit. This Claire was going to be harder to impress. No matter. He did _love_ a challenge.

"I don't believe it," he heard Gloria exclaim causing him to look up to find her behind the bar.

"Claire Salvatore," she gushed and came around the bar. "You look even more beautiful than I remember sweetheart."

Claire's face seemed to light up, "Gloria? How…shouldn't you be dead?" The two hugged.

"Anti-aging spell," the witch said. "Just like I told your brother earlier, it will all catch up to me."

"You're a witch," Claire affirmed then looked at both Stefan and Klaus. "Are these two recruiting you for something?"

"That's a bit confidential, dear," Klaus pointed out taking a sip of his drink.

Her eyes narrowed slightly then returned them to Gloria. "So, you kept this place going, huh? I remember it faintly."

"Only faintly," Gloria remarked. "I do remember you filling in when my piano player was too drunk to see the keys."

Klaus remembered this too very clearly. She looked absolutely beautiful up on stage.

The sudden memory flashed before him like a brief dream.

_He sat at the bar with his body turned toward the stage where Gloria was singing wonderfully, but his eyes were not focused on the crooning black woman, but on the woman playing at the piano. Dressed wonderfully in her pink flapper dress, Claire Salvatore was at home where she was sitting and it suited her wonderfully._

_Her head turned slightly in his direction and she smiled brightly at him_

He blinked back to the present and continued to stare at Claire as she and Gloria continued to speak then Gloria had quickly return to her customers which causes Claire to focus her attention back on them again.

"I want my brother back," she said getting back to the point.

"Is that an order?" Klaus questioned in amusement.

"A request," Claire said simply, but through gritted teeth. She glanced briefly over at Stefan who nodded his head toward the door.

He cleared his throat to regain Klaus' attention and she took the moment to take a look and found Damon standing there. Her shoulders slumped. _Katherine, you bitch_.

He glared at her then pointed a finger at her then did the "_you're dead"_ sign.

Sighing, she quickly looked back as Klaus returned his gaze to her and offered her another drink.

Stefan spoke up, "I need another drink—a _real _one." He emptied the rest of his glass and placed it back onto the bar. "Claire? Care to join me."

She nodded reluctantly and stood, but Klaus quickly took hold of her arm and stopped her.

"Why don't you go on without her?" He told Stefan, but not taking his eyes off her. "Last I checked your sister doesn't feed from live ones anymore."

Stefan seemed to no better than to try and argue. He looked at her with a slight anxious look and she retook her seat. "I won't be long," he told them both and headed for the exit.

"Now, how about that drink," Klaus asked her as he held the bottle up. She stared at him closely before reluctantly pushing the glass she had stolen from him minutes before toward him. "That a girl." As he poured, he continued, "So, you were trying to convince me to return your brother?"

"What's your purpose with him," she questioned sharply. "Do you have some kind of man crush on him or something?"

This caused the hybrid sitting beside her laugh rather loudly, "You can rest assured when I say that I prefer to show my affections toward _female_ companions."

The way that he was looking at her did not go unnoticed. It really annoyed her actually. "Not a chance in hell," she bit out forcefully.

This only made his smile widen. "I enjoy a challenge."

She glared at him, "Well consider this a challenge that you _won't_ win."

"We'll see about that," he said confidently which further pissed her off.

She went to retort, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Damon heading towards them without Stefan and took the seat that her other brother had vacated.

With an annoyed sigh, Klaus took his eyes off of Claire to acknowledge his presence. "Apparently they are opening the doors to the riff-raff now."

"Oh honey I have been called worse," Damon answered then he turned his gaze upon Claire. "Sis, you never mentioned that you were heading off on an impromptu road trip."

"Didn't realize I needed permission," Claire stated calmly.

"A note would have been nice," Damon remarked. "Perhaps you should head on back to Mystic Falls?"

"But she and I were just enjoying a drink," Klaus said pointedly. "You really don't give up do you?" He began playing with a tiny umbrella toothpick which lay on the bar in front of him.

"Give me my brother back and you'll never have to see me again," Damon points out with a smirk.

"Well, I'm torn. You see, I promised Stefan that I wouldn't let either of you die, but how many freebies did I really sign up for. While I will spare your sister, you on the other hand seem to clearly want to die, otherwise you wouldn't be here, so…"

"What can I say? I'm a bit of a thrill seeker."

"Damon," Claire warned seeing where this was sure to go.

And almost on cue, Klaus' hand shot up to strangle him. He pulled Damon out of seat and upward in the air before Claire had a moment to blink. When she quickly goes to intervene, he moved his body to block her movements.

"I realize that you would have rather this conversation not turn violent dear Claire, but I find that your brother here just doesn't know when to stay out of it." With the umbrella toothpick still in hand, he addressed Damon. "Now, I'm a little boozy so you'll have to excuse me if I miss your heart the first few tries."

With that, he lodged the tooth pick in his chest just above Damon's ribcage causing her wince and Damon to groan.

"Oops, that wasn't it," Klaus commented lightly before stabbing Damon once more on the other side, but lower this time.

"Stop it," Claire pleaded grabbing his arm and pulling him back.

"Not until he gets the _point_, love," he shrugged her off and stabbed her brother once more this time in the vicinity of the heart and she sucked in a breath as he left the toothpick lodged in him and started moving it upward.

Damon let out another sound of pain before he managed to find his voice. "You want a partner in crime? Forget Stefan. I'm so much _more_ fun!"

Klaus merely dismissed the offer, "Not really a fair trade." His eyes moved to Claire. "Now, if your sister were to want to take his place then maybe I would consider it."

"No way in hell," Damon grounded out before Klaus sent him flying across the bar. He came crashing down on a table.

Claire watched as Klaus walked over to a tipped over chair and reached down to rip off one of it legs to make a quick stake. "You won't be much fun when you're dead," he told her brother and he made a quick move in Damon's direction.

She quickly put herself in between the two. "No! Look, I'm sorry we tried to intervene again—just don't kill my brother…_please_."

"Claire," Damon put in with a moan. "Get out of here."

"I suggest you listen to your brother, Claire. This won't be pretty." Klaus quickly remarked before roughly pushing her to the side and went to act on his intention of staking Damon in the heart. However, the stake was quickly engulfed with flames. Releasing an unsatisfied sound, he tossed it aside and looked back toward the bar where Gloria stood, "Really?"

"Not in my bar," she said looking towards Claire who flashed her quick grateful look. The witch glanced back at Klaus. "Take it outside."

With a slight irritated look, Klaus shoved Damon back down by the shoulder. "You both don't need to negotiate for your brother's freedom. When I'm done with him, he won't want to come back." He stood fully and flashed a quick look at Claire who instantly went to help Damon to his feet. "However, if Claire would like to take me up on my offer then perhaps I could arrange something."

"Bite me," Claire snapped which gained a chuckle from him.

"Ooh I'm certain that you would taste lovely," he remarked kindly. "Maybe you two should head off and put some distance between Stefan and myself." His eyes locked on Damon. "I won't be as kind next time and nor will there be any interference." His eyes returned to Claire and seemed to soften. "As always, Claire, it has been delightful."

With another deathly glare, she ushered her brother toward the door. "His fascination with you is beginning to scare me," Damon grumbled.

"He's just being a dick," Claire retorted as they exited. She spotted his car parked just down the block. "So, Katherine tipped you off too, huh? I was hoping she'd give me at least a day to try and do things my way."

"You were stupid to come up here alone," Damon replied as he rubbed his chest. "You could've gotten yourself killed."

"And you seemed to have a better grasp on the situation?" Claire quickly questioned incredulously. "I went in there to try and reason with him and convince him to give us back Stefan, but no you had to blow in there with all guns blazing."

"I had to _stall_ him somehow," Damon simply said as they reached his car.

"Stall him? Why…" Her eyes found the reason sitting in the front seat. Her eyes quickly flashed to Damon. "Are you crazy? If Klaus were to find out…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Damon replied looking at the very forlorn Elena sitting there. "Look, she wanted to come. You can't blame her for _falsely _hoping she could help Stefan." He gave her a pointed look. When she sighed in defeat, he pulled out his keys. "Now, get in your car and _follow_ us back to Mystic Falls. We still need to discuss your idiotic plan."

Claire rolled her eyes, "Fine. I still think that if you hadn't had intervened I could have made at least _some_ progress."

"Yeah progress that probably would have led you to letting Klaus into your pants," he fired back and quickly blocked her fist. "Hey, desperate times lead to desperate measures."

"You're such an ass," she grumbled.

He wrapped an arm around her neck, pulling her close so he could kiss her forehead. "Let's go home."

She nodded and looked back toward _Gloria's_. Her eyes took in every inch of the building which had been so much more delightful back in the twenties. Her eyes grew sadder.

She saw a figure appear just outside the door and her eyes met Stefan's from the slight distance. With a brief nod, he headed inside and she found herself tearing up slightly.

"Claire," Damon spoke up causing her to turn and look over her shoulder at him. "Come on we need to go before they come back out."

"Okay, I'm just parked across the street," she said and started heading toward the rental car. When she climbed in, her eyes traveled back to the bar again and she found herself losing hope that they would ever find a way of getting Stefan back.

With a choked breath, she started the ignition and pulled into the street to follow Damon's Mustang back home.

*****So? Did everyone like that very small memory that Klaus remembered of Claire. It's just a little taste of what's to come. There will be nearly two chapters of their time in 1922. It's already written and I do believe it is just two updates away depending on how the next couple of updates go. So, something to look forward to I hope.**


	6. It's Homecoming

**Okay, this is just sort of a filler chapter to move things along. The next chapter will have A LOT of Claire/Klaus interaction, but it isn't the 1920's chapter. That will follow after the next one. Okay, so I have over 30 followers, so if I get 15-20 reviews on this chapter I will post the next one no later than Tuesday if my schedule permits it. Deal? I love that its being favorited and followed by many, but only five or six of you are reviewing. It's not too much to ask, right? I know I am guilty of doing the same thing and I have tried to stop it. Please review! Thank you! Oh, and excuse any mistakes. I was in a hurry.**

**It's Homecoming**

As Claire sat atop her bed with her journal on her lap, she recounted the events that had occurred in the past week and a half.

After leaving Chicago a few weeks back, Klaus would later learn of Stefan's betrayal and the aftermath of that disloyalty changed everything.

First, Klaus returned to Mystic Falls with Stefan and his newly un-daggered sister Rebekah to find that Elena was very much alive. This had been discovered while Elena and her friends enjoyed Senior Prank Night for which Claire chose not to partake in.

A lot of things happened before Bonnie had made the call to Claire who raced over. Tyler had been given blood from Klaus and then his neck was snapped to start the whole process of making a hybrid.

Bonnie was recruited by Klaus to find a way to save Tyler from death so that's when Bonnie called Claire.

On the way to the school Claire tried many times to call Damon, but he wasn't answering which was unusual, so she was going to have handle things on her own.

By the time she got there, Klaus had already compelled Stefan to obey his every command.

One command happened to be the worst of them all. It required Stefan to feed on Elena once the gymnasium clock buzzed.

She could do very little to keep Stefan at bay.

_"Claire, just do it!" Stefan pleaded. "Break my neck, my back, just something—do it!" _

_They were standing in the cafeteria after she managed to intercept him from getting to Elena._

_"No," she argued. "Fight it, Stefan." He made another quick move toward the cafeteria door, but she roughly stopped him._

_He shoved her way and her body slammed against the soda machine, nearly demolishing it. After regaining her bearings, she made the move to block his exit only he wasn't trying to leave. He headed over to a broom sat propped against the wall and he broke it in half, shoving the pointed end…_

_Her eyes widened as she called out, "Stefan, no!"_

_Only he didn't stake himself in the heart, only in the abdomen. She hurried over just as Klaus entered with Elena._

_"How fascinating," Klaus commented. "This I have never seen before. I mean the one thing stronger than the craving for blood is your love for this one girl."_

_"Okay, you've proven your point!" Claire yelled toward Klaus while keeping Stefan back from Elena. "Now make him stop!"_

_"I have a better idea," Klaus said as he let go of Elena and approached Stefan. "Why don't you turn it off?"_

_Stefan breaks from Claire's hold and pushes Klaus forcefully. "No!"_

_Klaus only pushes back sending them both against a wall and Klaus shouts, "__**Turn it off!**__"_

_Claire watched as Stefan's face changed and he stopped fighting. "No," she whispered recognizing just Klaus has done. He forcefully turned off what was left of Stefan's humanity. Everything that Stefan was is gone._

_"What did you do," Elena questioned immediately having seen the change in Stefan's demeanor._

_Klaus merely glance back at her smugly, "I fixed him." His eyes moved to Claire. "I am very sorry, dear Claire, but I have to put it to the test."_

_Claire did not like the look that he was giving her, "What are you talking about."_

_"Stefan," Klaus said turning to her brother. "I need your sister to keep out of our way for a bit. Break her neck, will you?"_

_Claire's eyes widened as she quickly backed away. "You bastard!"_

_"Don't fret, love, it's for your protection," Klaus assured just as Stefan turned to face her. "Do it. _Now_," he ordered._

_She heard Elena's plea before she watched her brother advance and soon everything went black._

Claire blinked and angrily wiped away the tears pooling her eyes. She sniffed. When she had awoken nearly a half hour later, she had gotten a text from Damon stating that he had Elena and they were now at the boarding house.

She called on the way there and got the info for where Damon had been. He had found a way to kill Klaus and the name Mikael really put a scare in the Hybrid for he quickly left leaving his doppelgänger to be looked after by his now trusty sidekick Stefan.

So, now everything had changed. Stefan no longer had any humanity and was complete nightmare to be around. Klaus was gone momentarily, probably making his hybrids now that he knew he could after succeeding with Tyler.

Only he left someone behind. That someone happened to have taken it upon herself to invite herself to stay at the boarding house without asking the owners. That someone happened to be walking into her room _without_ knocking.

Claire quickly closed her journal and glared at the blonde Original. "Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," Rebekah answered back, dismissively as she headed for Claire's closet. "I need a clutch to match my dress tonight. Mind if I borrow one?"

"I do mind actually," Claire fired back.

"Oh, don't be like that. We could be good friend, you and I, if you'd give it half a chance."

Claire snorted, "Sure thing. Why don't we just go off and braid each others hair and then make some friendship bracelets?"

"What the bloody hell are friendship bracelets and why would I want to make them when I could just buy one?"

Standing, Claire rolled her eyes, "Right. You've missed a good 90 years of events. Well, let me give you the Cliff notes version. What _we_ have here is not beginnings of a budding friendship. You're here because your brother abandoned you and you are too pitiful to fend for yourself so you decided to just barge into _our_ home and take over."

The blonde shot around and blurred across the room, slamming Claire against a wall with her hand wrapped around her neck. "I am _not_ pitiful."

"Then why are you here," Claire choked out. "Are you just lonely? Why don't you go and un-dagger your brothers and leave mine alone?"

Rebekah released her, "Nik isn't ready for them to be awakened yet."

Claire pushed past her, rubbing her neck. "Who cares what he wants? They're your family too. I mean he took them away from you…he killed your _mother._" Shortly after Rebekah's sudden arrival in her home, Elena and Claire managed to get more of insight on the Original family and Rebekah told them enough to get her on their side. She even willingly lied to Klaus about Mikael's fake death just so he would return to Mystic Falls.

"I don't need to explain myself to the likes of you," she answered heading for the door. "You really should update your wardrobe, though. It's quite drab." With that, the blonde exited leaving Claire to fume.

An hour later, Claire enters Stefan's room after searching everywhere in the house for Damon and found him and Elena standing by what looked like a body covered by a sheet on the floor.

"Okay…what did I miss?"

"Elena daggered Barbie Klaus," Damon filled in and Elena's face looked remorseful.

"That was bold," she commented joining them to stand over the body. "And what brought this on?"

"She wasn't on truly on our side. I couldn't chance her interfering." Elena explained.

"If it makes you feel better," Damon spoke up. "She isn't really dead."

"It doesn't," Elena muttered. "Can we trust him—Mikael?"

"No," Damon answered.

"What about Stefan," she asked.

"Not as long as he is being compelled by Klaus," Claire said in return. "We need a better plan."

Elena looked at her, "Like what?"

Claire sighed and looked to Damon, "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"

"Yes, and I don't like it one bit," he answered and glanced at Elena. "You won't either by the way."

When Claire walked into Tyler Lockwood's house alongside Elena and Matt, she stared down at her dress.

She sure went modest when it came to homecoming. She decided upon a turquoise high neck halter dress which fell just above her knees.

"So much for homecoming," Elena said looking around the crowd. After the apparent flooding of the gym, the dance had been moved to here.

"Tyler sure arranged this quickly," Claire commented.

"This is weird," Matt said looking at Elena. "Us being here together…"

"There's Caroline," Elena said pointing toward where the blonde stood. "She doesn't know anything. Act normal."

They approached where Caroline stood and she greeted. "Hey, Klaus is here? Apparently, our sired-friend decided to let his master throw party. I expected more of a surprise."

Elena spoke up, "I've learned not to be surprised by anything that Klaus does. I'm going to go find Bonnie." She looked at Claire pointedly.

"I'll come with," Claire said following. "Nice save with Donovan."

"Honestly, what is everybody's fascination with this girl," she questioned irritably.

"You're just jealous that no one is paying you any attention, Katherine," Claire teased before they were stopped by a girl Claire should have recognize from school, but finds that she does not.

"Hey! There you are," the girl said to Claire with a bit too much fakeness in her voice. "You weren't at the game so you missed it! Congratulations!"

Claire stared at her, "Congratulations for what?"

That's when the girl held up the shiny, fake diamond encrusted crown. "You won homecoming queen!"

Claire's jaw dropped while Katherine stifled a snicker. "How is that even possible? Who the hell nominated me?"

The girl looked taken aback, "Well, the senior class did and they all voted. You won."

"I don't want it," Claire said simply.

The girl looked at her like she was crazy, "But you won. The crown is yours!"

Claire growled and snatched the thing from her, "Fine. Thanks. Whoopee."

The girl didn't leave. "Well aren't you going to put it on?"

_Not a chance in hell…_

"Sure she is," Katherine said in a cheerful voice. Claire glared at her. "Come on, Claire. What kind of queen would you be without your crown?"

Through gritted teeth, she shoved the crown on her head and looked pointedly at the both of them, "There, happy now?"

"I'm overjoyed," Katherine commented grinning widely.

When the girl finally left, Claire muttered, "Not another word."

Fifteen minutes later, Claire found herself making her way outside to get some air. She had been separated from Katherine due to all the praise she was getting for winning homecoming queen.

She was honestly not cut up for this whole high school thing. She finally was able to get away from all of those people and could finally breathe. Surprisingly, during the whole thing she never ran into Klaus which was weird considering he orchestrated this whole shin-dig. As she stood staring at the band playing across the yard, she felt a presence behind her.

"You look stunning," a voice said from behind her. She cringed when she recognized the familiar British accent.

She spun around and crossed her arms across her chest.

His eyes drifted up to take in her tiara, and he commented, "You truly look like royalty." There was humor in his voice and she refused to allow him the pleasure of teasing her.

She reached up and jerked the crown from her head, "And this will be coming off." She stopped a passing female partygoer. "Here you go it's all yours. _Enjoy_."

At this, he chuckled, "You don't take compliments well."

"Not when I don't believe they are genuine," she said in return.

"Oh, I assure you that I am being very genuine," he assured with a grin. "So, did you miss me?"

She snorted. "Oh yes. I've been crying into my pillow every night just waiting for your return," she replied sarcastically. "I'd say it's been rather peaceful with the exception of your sister just barging in and taking over our home. Honestly, what is with you Originals automatically assuming that you can just take what isn't yours?"

"We only take what we feel is necessary and I will agree that Rebekah does have her moments," he commented lightly. "I'm surprised that she hasn't stolen that crown from your head. She doesn't take losing very well. Where is she by the way?"

Her mind quickly flashed to Rebekah currently lying daggered down in the cellar of the boarding house, but she simply answered, "No idea. It's not my job to keep up with her."

Stefan appears from out of nowhere. He smiled smugly at Claire, "So, I hear congratulations are in order…"

She held up a finger in warning, "_Don't even go there!"_

Suddenly, a voice sounded over the microphone, "Hello, Mystic Falls High! Now we're going to slow things down a bit so if the homecoming king and queen could meet up on stage…"

Claire drowned out the rest of the words and quickly shook her head. "No _freaking_ way. I don't think so! That's it…I'm gone!" With that, she turned away and headed back into the house.

Klaus watched in amusement as her form disappeared into the house. "She doesn't like a lot of attention on herself, does she? I suppose I shouldn't have had Tyler compel a few important members of the senior class to vote for her, eh?"

Stefan raised a brow, "So you were behind this?"

Klaus shrugged a shoulder, "I thought she'd make a very beautiful queen. No matter. Back to what I was just discussing with your sister. It appears my sister has not arrived, where is she?"

"I don't know," Stefan answered. "She was supposed to come with Matt."

"Be honest, Stefan? Where is my sister?"

"I don't know," Stefan repeated firmly. "Now, would you like me to take you to your father?"

Klaus smiled evilly at this.

Minutes later, Claire is standing in the foyer when Katherine appears and pulls her toward the door, "What's going on?"

"We need to get back to the boarding house," she said as they exited.

"What, why?"

"I don't have time to explain, now come on!"

Minutes later, they were standing in the library of the boarding house where Stefan laid unconscious. Claire quickly rushed to him and shook him, "Stefan!"

He manages to shake him awake and his eyes drifted over to Katherine, "Elena?"

With a grumble, she answered, "Not exactly." She tossed him a blood bag. "Pep up. We only have a minute before they realize Claire and I are not at the party."

Stefan sat up and looked to Claire, "What the hell is going on?"

"Got me," Claire said and looked to Katherine. "What's going on, Katherine?"

Katherine recounted her conversation with Klaus. "If Klaus dies, he's taking Damon down with him."

"So, pull the plug on the plan," Stefan said simply as he emptied the blood bag.

"And face the wrath of Mikael?" Katherine questioned with wide-eyes. "We'll all be dead! Look I get that you turned off your humanity, but there is one solution."

"What's that," Stefan asked.

"Care, Stefan. Care enough to save Damon's life because I'm going back to the party and seeing this plan through. Klaus will be dead and we will have our freedom…"

"But Damon will be dead," Claire said cutting her off. Her eyes met Stefan's. "Our brother will be dead, Stefan, unless you still care enough about him to do something about it." Her eyes pleaded with him. "Stefan, come on!"

"If I stop Damon then I will no longer be compelled by Klaus," he said simply and his eyes bored into Claire's. "He took a lot from me, Claire, and he's not just going to survive this and not get what he deserves."

Claire stared at him, "What are you saying, Stefan?"

"I can't say anything not while I am still being controlled by Klaus." He stood. "Stay here and wait for my call." He stopped and looked at her closely. "You will help me, right?"

"Of course," she said with only a slight bit of hesitation. She was unsure of just what he was asking of her, but she was with him no matter what.

He nodded and then motioned to Katherine. They hurried out leaving her to stand by the burning fire.

It nearly took twenty minutes before Stefan finally called her. By this time, she had changed into more comfortable clothing preparing for just what Stefan needed her help for.

"Hey, what all went down?" she asked after picking up the phone.

"Mikael is dead," Stefan said simply. "Damon is fine and is probably pissed and heading that way now. So, get out of there before he does."

She quickly heads for the door with her keys already in her pocket, "What do you need me to do?"

"Head over to that storage lot just outside of town and I'll be there soon," he said. "Don't do anything till I get there. He'll have hybrid's patrolling more and likely."

She released a breath, "Okay. What exactly are we doing, Stefan?"

"Taking away the one thing that matters to him," he said coldly before ending the call.

Claire stared at the phone worriedly. She did not like where this was going, but she kept on heading toward her vehicle and hopped in.

Hours later, the sun was now up as she stood leaning against the door frame of an abandoned house while Stefan dialed a number on his phone.

She overheard Klaus picking up as he cheerfully greeted, "Stefan! Miss me already?"

"I'm just calling to thank you for my freedom," Stefan said in return.

"Oh, I'd like to think I'm man of my word, more or less."

"Thing is, it came at too high of a price," He turned to face her and their eyes met. "You took everything from me, Klaus."

"Let bygones be bygones, trust me. Resentment gets old."

Stefan smirked, "You want to know what never gets old? Revenge."

By this time, Klaus has discovered that his caskets are missing, and she heard him growl into the phone, "No!"

"What's the matter, Klaus? Missing something?"

Claire eyed the four caskets wearily. When she arrived at the storage lot last night, she never imagined what Stefan had in mind. He wanted to take Klaus' family who were stored away in these caskets. Against her better judgment, she helped Stefan take on the five hybrids that were lurking about protecting the truck that the boxes were stored in and helped him transport them to an abandoned house deep within the woods.

"I wonder, Klaus, as someone who has been one step ahead for thousands of years—are you prepared for this?" He hung up the phone and shoved it into his pocket.

"I sure hope you know what you are doing," she commented.

He stared at her and she saw nothing that resembled her brother. She didn't recognize this Stefan at all. "It's too late to back away now. You gave me your word."

"And I swore not to tell anyone and I mean it," she whispered. "I just feel like we're playing with fire here, Stef." When he didn't respond, she sighed and motioned for the caskets, "Well, what are we going to do with these then?"

"We need to find a place where he can't find them," he told her. "And I have a place in mind, but we'll need a witch to help us."


	7. A Time Bite

****Okay, so here is the update. I got a bit more of you to review, so thank you! Keep it up! It motivates me, I promise. So, after analyzing this chapter over and over, I was finally satisfied enough to post it. There is an OVERLOAD of Claire/Klaus moments just like a lot of you have requested. :) I do believe that from here on out there will continue to be more of these moments. The 20's chapters, yes chapters, will be coming up! I hope all of you are excited to read them. I was excited to write them because I LOVED the flashbacks on the show.**

**Okay, I've talked enough! Read! Review! Thank you!**

**A Tiny Bite**

After mingling for nearly a half hour at Founders event, Claire finally had enough and decided to step outside for some air. She had been cornered by Daniel Fell. It seemed to her that the egotistical bastard trait seemed to run through every generation of Fell's. She felt like she was conversing with Edward Fell all over again and it left a bad taste in her mouth.

When she managed to get a voice in during his continued boasting about getting into Yale, she excused herself and quickly made her exit.

Her feet carried her away from Town Hall to the road where she crossed over to the small park in the center of the town square. She let herself drop onto a nearby park bench with a tired sigh.

Honestly, this whole thing with Klaus and is stupid hybrids was starting to get exhausting. She really didn't want to spend the rest of her existence as vampire in a war with some kind of power hungry hybrid.

Of course taking the guy's family wasn't the best of moves, but she was going to support Stefan all the way through this even it was to end badly.

Her head quickly lifted as she heard a twig snap in the darkness. A figure stealthily approached and she caught sight a young man in his early twenties.

He grinned menacingly, "Well, what do we have here?"

Claire slowly stood as the hybrid neared.

"A lone Salvatore," he continued. "My sire is quite angry with your lot."

"What do you want," she questioned with edge n her voice.

"I want to kill you of course," he answered still grinning. "Although, it goes against my master's orders, but you were the one to make the foolish mistake of walking around alone." His eyes go yellow and his fangs appear.

Claire felt her face transform as her fangs shot down and she readied herself for the attack, "Bring it on."

When he pounced, she quickly dodged his advances. She spun around and blocked his punch and threw one of her own. Her fist collided with his jaw and she felt it sting momentarily before she blocked another of his fists. With a struggle, she managed to push him away from trying to wrap his hands around her neck.

Her own hands shot to his shoulders and swiftly kneed the hybrid in the gut sending him to the ground. She took this moment flip him over onto his back with a flash and took the moment to shove her fist into his chest to grip his heart. After pulling the organ from his chest, she tossed it aside and stared down at the young hybrid as he laid dead.

This had honestly been a little _too_ easy. Granted, she had nearly two hundred years on the lad, but with the extra strength from being half-werewolf, she would have thought that he would have been a lot harder to take down.

She climbed to her feet after wiping as much blood off her hand as she could using the dead hybrid's shirt.

Her ears quickly detected more movement coming from the same direction the hybrid had appeared from. Three more of his kind made themselves visible and she felt her body go cold.

"_Seriously_?" she uttered out, quickly glancing back at Town Hall wondering if her brother would notice her absence.

It had been a rather dull evening and Klaus found himself idly listening to a conversation between the mayor and another founder. Just minutes ago, he had a brief conversation with Damon where the Salvatore had let him in on the fact that Elena had been snatched by Stefan which had been another method to get Klaus order his hybrids to leave town. After dismissing Damon's insistence to send his hybrids away and simply just obey his brother's wishes, he had returned to the party.

Over the heads of a few Mystic Falls residence, his eyes found Damon approaching Alaric and overheard him ask, "Have you seen Claire anywhere?"

Alaric scanned the room and answered, "Not for awhile. Did she head back home?"

Damon growled slightly and responded, "Hell if I know." He pulled his phone out and quickly dialed a number then pressed it to his ear. "I'd like to fill her in on the fact that our brother has gone mad and has snatched Elena." His eyes found Klaus' and they narrowed while Klaus just held up his wine glass in return. Damon cursed and shoved his phone back into his jeans. "She's not answering."

"She's capable of handling herself," Alaric assured taking a sip of his drink. "You're overreacting."

"With all these hybrids strolling about, I'd much rather her _not_ go off on her own. The last thing I need is for my sister to be used as a freaking chew toy!" Damon nodded toward the door. "I'm going to check outside."

Even though Klaus had nothing to worry about since he hadn't ordered any of his hybrids to attack any of the Salvatore's tonight, he found himself heading in the same direction that Damon had exited in, passing by a closely watching Alaric Saltzman.

As he stepped out onto the front stoop of the Meeting Hall, he found Damon nowhere to be found. He focused and tried to listen in on anything that would sound out of the ordinary.

That's when he heard Damon's shout. Normally, he wouldn't bother finding out the reasoning behind this yell, but it was more what he was yelling that had his full attention. He had yelled out Claire's name, but why? He found himself blurring across the street to the small park near the town square.

When he arrived, Damon was ripping off one of his hybrids from his place atop Claire as she lay on the ground crying out and holding her shoulder. Another of his hybrids was lying on the ground dead, his heart resting near his body, but Klaus didn't focus on him long. The two others had quickly recovered from being forcefully pushed away from probably helping restraint the younger Salvatore, but Klaus refused to pay them anymore time.

His eyes moved back to the clearly injured Claire and he found himself wanting to rush over, but first he needed to put an end to this. "_Stand down_," he growled. The order was not for the other Salvatore, but to his still standing hybrids. All fighting ceased which gave Damon the moment to collect his sister from the ground and soon the two rushed off leaving Klaus with his hybrids.

His eyes zeroed in on the hybrid who was wiping away Claire's blood from his mouth. He vamped over to stand before him and eyed him coldly and his hands gripped in fists at his sides.

The hybrid was bold enough to speak. "My liege…"

Klaus quickly cut him off with a snarl, "Who ordered this attack?"

He watched the hybrid quickly look to the other two standing behind his alpha before answering. "I did. I thought it would lure the Salvatore that took your family. I wanted to send him a…" The hybrid's words had halted and he stared wide eyed down at Klaus' forearm for it was buried into his chest and squeezing his heart to the point of death.

Klaus' eyes blazed dangerously, "I give the orders around here." With his fingers wrapped around the pounding heart, he ripped it from the chest sending the hybrid to the ground. He let the heart fall from his grip and he addressed the other hybrids who both looked rather tensely at their fallen comrade. "Clean up this mess and get back to the compound. We will discuss this later."

They both nodded just as Klaus' phone rang. He jerked it from his pocket and saw that it was Stefan. With a snarl, he answered it. "What is it now, Stefan?"

Her shoulder stung as she exited her SUV after driving the short distance from the boarding house to the place that would serve as her final resting place.

Her mind drifted back to the conversation she had with Damon less than thirty minutes ago. After quickly leaving Klaus with his hybrids, they had immediately headed to the boarding house where Damon quickly helped Claire to her bedroom.

_"Damon, please," she pleaded as her hand held the stake firmly._

_"Do you know what you are asking of me?" he questioned looking at her with fierce eyes. "I can't kill you, Claire."_

_"You did it for Rose…"_

_He cut her off sharply, "And it was one of the hardest things I have ever done! I couldn't…not to you." _

When he had left, she realized that she was asking way too much of him. Of course he couldn't do it. She could never willingly kill him or Stefan, so how could she think he could do the same? It would destroy him and she didn't want that.

So, here she was. She had sneaked out of her room leaving a note and had taken off.

With the bag of necessities in her hand, she left the keys behind in the driver seat and headed through the darkness.

After stepping over fallen trees and other debris, Claire stopped when the house came into view. It had been the place where she was brought into the world and it would now serve as the place that she would leave it. It seemed fitting especially considering it was her birthday.

She allowed her feet to approach the house which now looked decrepit and ready to succumb to elements of Mother Nature. She and her brothers never even considered fixing it up. Too many terrible memories happened in that house, so they figured what was the point.

Pushing open the feeble door, she looked inside the darkened entryway and released a breath. It had been over a century since she had stepped inside the place that was once her home.

Her feet carried her over the threshold and she felt herself grow heavy from the memories that suddenly slammed into her. Her eyes moved to the staircase where she remembered faintly of chasing Stefan up and down on many occasions when they were children. Their antics would always gain the attention of their father who would immediately scold them for making such a ruckus.

Her eyes traveled up the stairs where her bedroom was located. It had been her fortress for seventeen years and she despised it. There was no sense going up there. Instead she walked through the house to the backdoor which led to what used to be a large garden, but now was just filled with weeds. This place had meant dearly to her mother and her father in return had kept it up after her death.

She moved through the overgrown weeds and towards the pond just beyond it. She stopped at its murky edge and let out a staggered breath. Faintly, she remembered once pushing Damon into this very pond when she was thirteen and he twenty. He was teasing her of course and treating her like a child, so she snapped. She smiled at this memory. He hadn't seen it coming.

She felt her body begin to feel slightly weak, but she knew that she had at least 24 hours before she'd succumb to the bite so she had other plans to quicken the process. She already knew what was in store for her having seen Damon go through it, but she wondered if it would be more painful considering hers had a bite much like Rose's but a bit more severe. The damn hybrid nearly bit her to the bone and managed to take a bit of flesh with him. It had healed itself of course with the help of some blood, but now she had the usual grotesque flesh wound nearly taking over whole shoulder.

In her pocket, she felt her phone vibrate, and she pulled it out having forgotten that she had brought it with her. She glanced down at the screen and saw Stefan's name appear. She pressed the screen and put the phone to her ear, "Hey Stef."

"Claire, where are you," he asked sharply. "I came by the house and Damon said you took off leaving a note stating that you were off to go die…"

"Why delay the inevitable?"

She heard him release a pained sigh, "I could go to him. I could give him what he wants…"

"No," she stated firmly. "We can't back down now. The last time you went and made a deal it took you away from us and changed who you are. It's done, Stefan. I don't want any deals to be made on my behalf, understand?"

"Yes."

"Swear to me."

"I swear," he said with strained voice. "I'm sorry. Where are you? You shouldn't be alone."

"It's better this way." She smiled painfully. "Besides, you'll just try and save me. It's kind of your thing." She swallowed. "I hope you know what you are doing." With a sigh, she continued. "I better get off here now. Take care of yourself, Stefan." Without waiting for his reply, she ended the call and stared down at the phone with tears cascading down her face.

It hit her suddenly that she wasn't going to see either of her brothers again after this night. She gripped the phone tightly and threw it with a sob across the pond where she heard it faintly hitting the water.

She stared out at into the darkness with the moon being the only light that she had. Turning, she headed over to a large oak tree resting a way up the banking and pressed her back against it, slowly sliding down it to the ground. She placed the bag draped across her to rest beside her. After ripping off her jacket so that her injury could breathe, she settled back.

Her eyes felt heavy as the tears continued to flow, but her gaze just stared across the pond.

Her ears perked as she heard a snapping of a twig come from the right of her and she sighed when she sensed just who it was that had interrupted her solitude. It happened to have been the last person she expected to see and with a gas lantern no less. "Come to boast, Klaus?" When he came into sight, she glared up at him, "How did you even find me?"

"I followed you from your home," he answered shining the light down at her.

"Wow, how very stalker-ish of you."

"That was very noble of you…insisting that your brother keep on with the plan and not bargain for your life."

"Just get to the point." She requested coldly. "Have you come to finish me off or _what_?"

Oddly, he actually looked hurt by her words. "Do you really think that lowly of me?"

She stared at him and strongly bit out, "_Yes_."

She watched as he took a few steps forward to take a seat in the grass a mere foot from her then place the lantern down beside him. "Well that's a pity. I did come here to give you my deepest apologies for what happened tonight. I'm afraid my hybrids decided to take matters into their own hands and you just happen to come upon them at the wrong time."

"You can take your apologies and shove it because I don't believe a single thing that comes from your mouth." Her eyes stared back out ahead of her. "You've said your peace, so you can leave now."

Klaus just stared at the strong-willed woman, and incredulously asked, "You would just rather die then take my blood that I am willingly offering you?"

Her head shot back around to give him an incredulous look, "Oh that was you _willingly_ offering me your help? Wow, how could I have missed such a _grand_ declaration of heroism?"

His jaw clenched slightly. He didn't liked being mocked. "You could show me a bit more respect, Claire."

She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Whatever," before she sucked in a breath as the bite stung.

His eyes raked over her visibly injured shoulder and inwardly winced. "That looks painful."

She scoffed, "Stop admiring the work of your abomination and take a hike."

His felt his annoyance from her resisting behavior growing. "How do you suppose that you will be able to handle the after effects of the bite? The pain, the thirst for blood, and the hallucinations…you still have a long time till death takes you."

She reached beside her to where a bag sat. Her hand pulled out a bottle of vodka and she twisted off the cap then took a swig. She held the bottle up for good measure, "For the pain." Next, she pulled out a blood bag and waved it at him. "I have the thirst for blood handled as well. As for the hallucinations they haven't hit me yet. Are there anymore of your useless questions?"

He cleared his throat and matter-of-factually pointed out, "That blood bag won't last you long. I've seen what happens to a vampire who has been bitten by a werewolf. It takes nearly an entire day before he succumbed to his ultimate death. What do you plan to do in the meantime besides get drunk?"

"I'm not waiting for my body to succumb to the bite," she told him almost stoic in her response. She pulled something else from the bag. His eyes widened as she waved the wooden object at him.

"And what are you planning on doing with that?"

She snorted, "For someone who has been around for as long as you have you'd think that you would know the purpose of a stake." She cleared her throat pointedly before explaining the process to him as she were talking to a two year old. "Well, you see I'm going to stick this pointy end right here in my chest and right into my heart. The moment I do then poof! I'll die just like all vampires should die."

He stared at her in disbelief before his gaze hardened. "You wouldn't…" Surely, he would be correct. How could a vampire take his or her own life so easily?

"Don't underestimate me," she snapped before he swiftly ripped the stake from her hands and tossed into the watery depths of the pond. "Hey!" She glared at him and took another sip of liquor. "What a buzz kill." Then a slow, delirious smile spreads itself across her face. "No matter…I have a back-up plan just in case I lost the nerve of staking myself."

His watched as she lifted her right hand at him. "I do believe that the sun should be rising in less than hour. I'll just let it finish me off."

He was puzzled at first then he realized that her ring finger was bare and without her day-light ring. "Where is your ring," he asked her sharply and reached over her to grab the bag that seemed to hold everything to help her in her demise.

As he feverishly searched the bag's depths, she chuckled incredulously, "I'm not going to tell you. Why do you care so damn much? What does my death mean to you?"

_Oh, if only you knew_, he thought as he angrily tossed the bag aside.

"Just let me die in peace, Klaus," she pleaded before her body was racked with a loud, deep cough. The coughing was so severe that she leaned to the side as bouts of blood came from her mouth.

Klaus painfully watched the scene and had it in his mind to just _force_ her to take the blood, but held back.

When she had the chance to, she choked out, "Just _go_! I'm going to die and I'd rather do it without you present. I'd hate for your face to be the last thing I see in this world." She wiped the back of her hand across her mouth and leaned back against the tree then released a staggering sigh.

A few moments passed before he spoke. "I could just let you die," he began as her eyes locked onto his. "If that's what you _truly_ want. If you really believe that your existence has no meaning." He allowed a thoughtful look pass over his features. "I've thought about it myself, once or twice over the centuries—if you want to know the truth. When you live as long as I have, it is hard not to think about ending one's life, but you have much more of a life to live, love. _I_ could give you the chance to keep on living. Think of your brothers. Are you ready to leave them behind?"

He saw his words getting through to her. She sucked in a breath as a fresh batch of tears filled her eyes. "What's in it for you?" Her eyes looked his way again.

Obviously, she doubted his intentions. Granted, she had every right to considering the events that occurred at the beginning of the summer. He gave her a hard look, "I have no motives, Claire. I give you my word. All you have to do is say the words and I will heal you."

"I'm not telling you where Stefan is keeping the coffins," she told him firmly.

A small smile appears on his face as he nodded his head, "I figured your loyalty would not be swayed. I was not expecting you to release their location. As I have told you, I have no ulterior motives. You will not have to bargain for your life, I swear to you."

Her eyes stared at him as she tried to determine if he was being honest. He allowed her the moment to decide and just let himself stare out at the pond.

"This place must mean something to you or you wouldn't have chosen it as the place to depart this life from."

He heard her sniffle and she croaked out, "All I remember from my human life here is feeling useless and didn't even begin to live until I became a vampire."

Klaus found himself understanding the feeling. He let his gaze return to her and simply stared at the beauty before him. He would not let her choose death. He was certain of that. Even if he had to apply force, he was going to make sure that she drank his blood.

He just hoped that she would come to the same conclusion as he. It would make it so much simpler and it would make him have some bit of hope that she could at least trust him enough to save her life.

Slowly, her eyes met his and he could see the relentlessness filling the depths of them. "I…" She bit her quivering bottom lip before firmly saying. "_I don't want to die_."

Without taking his eyes from hers, he lifted his right arm and began rolling up his sleeve. When his forearm was revealed, he scooted closer to her small form and draped an arm around her. He felt her stiffen from the contact which unnerved him, but he quickly let the feeling pass.

He held up the exposed skin of his wrist to her, "Here you go, sweetheart. Have at it."

Her breathing quickened slightly as she stared at his wrist. He silently urged her to lean forward. When he saw her face transform and her fangs descend, he found himself inwardly smiling. She looked absolutely dazzling in this state. Her fangs finally made contact with his skin and his eyes drifted closed as she drank from him. Slowly, he brought his free hand up to let it graze the softness of her dark hair.

He felt her grip his wrist tightly as she drank and soon he could feel her mouth leave his skin. His eyes reopened and he found her body slackening as it slowly succumbed to the events that had occurred that evening. As much as she fought it, she slumped against him with her eyes drooping.

As she lay passed out against his shoulder, Klaus took the moment to angle his neck slightly to take a glimpse of her wound. With satisfaction, he saw it slowly healing, but he couldn't focus on that.

He became suddenly aware that both his arms were now wrapped around Claire and he was holding onto her protectively.

He had _never_ held a woman this way.

He rather enjoyed this current position. Had she been in her normal state, he was sure she'd be very much against this, so he tried to savor the moment, and soon several minutes seemed to pass. He decided that while he rather enjoyed the natural feeling of her being in his arms, he didn't have much time to waste. The sun would be rising soon and he should get her back to her home, safely.

First, he distinguished the flame in the lantern and thought of no more of it. He maneuvered a bit to stand with her cradled in his arms and he turned from what would have been her final resting place. He walked back towards the Salvatore's rundown home. Soon he came to her vehicle and was joined by one of his hybrids. He nodded for the hybrid to open the back door and deposited Claire's resting form gently onto the leather seats. He stared at her a moment before turning around to address his hybrid.

"Jared, take the car back to the house and get out town. Don't go too far. If Stefan doesn't relinquish my family soon, I will be needing reinforcements."

Jared nodded obediently and turned, heading away.

Klaus closed the backdoor lightly and went to hop into to the front where he found her car keys resting in the seat.

Minutes later, he was pulling up to the Salvatore's Boarding house and quickly lifted her from the backseat with the sun slowly rising in the distance. With her arms instinctively wrapping around her neck, he headed for the porch and jerked open the door without bothering to knock.

Damon was coming down the stairs the exact moment that he entered with Stefan appearing from the library.

"Excuse the intrusion, lads, but I am in a bit of a time crunch here."

Damon approached him and motioned for him to hand over his sister, but Klaus backed away.

"Care to point me in the direction of the lady's bedroom?"

"Give her to me," Damon bit out reaching for her again.

Klaus glared, "Bedroom if you please."

Stefan spoke up, "Upstairs, second door to the right."

Klaus nodded and rushed her up the stairs. He entered the bedroom and lightly deposited her onto her powder blue covered bed. His eyes darted around the room looking for her ring and he quickly took note that her windows lacked any drapery or any means of blocking out the sun. So, finding her ring was a bit more crucial or he'd have to move her immediately into another room.

Luckily, he found the ring resting on the bedside table beneath a copy of _Jane Eyre_ and he reached for her right hand and slid it where it belonged just moments before the sun's rays drifted into the bedroom.

He slowly sat at the foot of her bed and released a relieved breath. His eyes drifted up to watch her sleep soundly, and he took this moment to reach his hand into his jacket pocket and pull out a long, velvet box and he slid it under the pillow for which she was laying upon. He could have watched her sleep forever, but the presence of another being caused him to look toward the doorway.

Damon crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, "You can leave now."

"I saved your sister's life and that's all that you can say?" Perhaps, this Salvatore deserved a lesson when it comes to gratitude.

"Don't think I don't notice," Damon began. "You've taken a liking to my little sister, and you think that saving her is going to get her to return the feeling." This admission caused Damon to grin wickedly. "Only you're fooling yourself. My sister would _never_ lower herself to the likes of you. She's loyal to _our_ side."

With his jaw clenched, Klaus stood, "Do mind your tone, Salvatore."

"Just get the hell out of here," Damon growled pushing away from the door and walking over to his sister's bedside. In the few moments that he watched Damon brushing Claire's hair away from her face, Klaus found himself seeing the same relationship that he had with Rebekah.

Turning, he headed out the door and down the stairs where he found Stefan still standing by the entryway to the library. "As you can see, Stefan, I sent my hybrids away even after the stunt you pulled with my doppelgänger _and_ I saved your sister from a certain death. So, this leads me to believe that you should really consider returning my family to me. I'll let you ponder that for a bit."

He exited the house and into the approaching day. He looked back toward the house and up to what would be Claire's bedroom. With a brief smile, he hoped that she would like the gift that he left behind. The first time he had given it to her had made her entire face light up.

That memory caused him think back on his second encounter with Claire Salvatore. It had been the moment that he realized that there would be one person in this world that could make him feel something other than anger and pain and that one person was _her_.

It felt like a lifetime ago and so much had happened since then mostly due to his finding out about the current doppelgänger yet he couldn't deny it. The feelings were still there. She just needed to see that side of him again.

He glanced once more at her window and whispered, "Happy Birthday, Claire."


	8. Roaring Twenties

****Finally the 20's chapter I have been promising you. This is part 1 of 2 that deals with Klaus and Claire's time in the 20's together. I hope all of you enjoy! Keep on reviewing!****

**Roaring Twenties**

It was 1922 in Downtown Chicago and Klaus found himself, not strolling along the busy streets filled with humans on their way to the theaters or the local clubs, but instead on a park bench in the historic Grant Park with his sketch pad resting on his crossed leg.

He had every intention of sketching the buildings just beyond the trees, but his hand and charcoal had a mind of their own. He found himself drawing _her_—the woman who seemed to inhabit many of his thoughts and dreams. It had been nearly sixty years since his only encounter with her. He had never returned to Mystic Falls after retrieving his mother's body and therefore never saw the young woman again.

Now, she would be well into the later years of her life. Perhaps she married, then had children of her own, and was now living as a grandmother.

_A nice, long _human_ life_, he thought bitterly. He wondered if she truly _lived_ like she had wanted and hoped for. Had she taken his advice and explored the world?

Well, she certainly didn't marry that Fell bloke that's for certain. Klaus found himself grinning. He made absolutely certain of that.

_Shortly after leaving Claire behind at the Falls, Klaus found himself on the plantation owned by Edward Fell having gotten the directions from one of the compelled humans who had helped in the excavating of his mother's body._

_He saw a figure heading over to a barn near the back of the house and Klaus grinned menacingly_ _and vamped over, stopping at the door, and watched the man drop the newly chopped logs into a pile. _

_The man turned to head back the way he had came and halted, seeing Klaus blocking his path. _

_"Edward Fell?"_

_The thirty-something man squinted at him, "Who wants to know?"_

_"I'm an acquaintance of a lovely young woman by the name of Claire. I hear that you are planning on asking for her hand?"_

_The man snorted, "I hate to break it to you, mister, but she's not worth your time. She's merely just an easy way of getting money from the bastard of a father of hers. He wants my land and I want his money. The girl is just part of the deal." He rubbed his chin. "She is a looker though. Hadn't gotten a peek under that skirt of hers…"_

_Klaus had heard enough of the man's disrespecting comments toward Claire and rushed the man, shoving him against one of the walls of the barn with great strength. His face changed and his fangs slipped down. _

_He had every intention of just compelling the man to stay far away from Claire, but no _killing_ him would bring him much more pleasure._

_The man grunted against his strong hold, "What are you?"_

_"The last thing you will see in this life."_

Klaus blinked back into the present time and released a satisfied chuckle. After ripping the man apart, he quickly disposed of the body in the pond located on the Fell property.

The man got what he deserved. Claire would be able to make her dreams come true without having to go through obligation of marrying the bastard.

Closing his sketch pad, he figured that perhaps he should find out what kind of trouble Rebekah had gotten into. Apparently, she had met some young vampire by the name of Stefan and was quite smitten by him. This wasn't unusual for his sister to find a young gent to occupy her time with.

Standing, he thought about the location of his sister. She'd be at Daisy's a speakeasy bar in the heart of Chicago. His sister rather enjoyed a local jazz singer that went by the name of Gloria, so she frequented the place often.

Soon he was walking along Main St. and was a few blocks from the bar when he was nearly ran over by a young woman stepping onto the sidewalk.

"Pardon me," the woman said lightly as his eyes raked over her. She was the typical flapper-styled woman and her body wore the pale yellow fringed dress wonderfully.

His gaze travelled upward and his eyes widened. He felt himself lose all ability to breathe. He tried to form words, but he found that his mouth was incapable of uttering a single thing.

Here stood the woman that had occupied his every thought if he allowed the memory of her the opportunity to do so. It was _her_—from the dark hair, to those beautiful hazel eyes, and overall delicate features.

"Sir, are you okay?"

No, it couldn't be her. She'd be in her seventies. This wasn't her. She had to be a relative of Claire's…a granddaughter perhaps.

"Sir," the woman questioned again.

Klaus blinked and cleared his throat, "My apologies, Miss." He continued onward, not looking back. He made it as far as the corner before turning around to catch sight of the woman again. He found her leading a pair of men carrying luggage into the Drake Hotel.

He wanted to turn right back around and keep walking to the bar, but he found that he couldn't force his feet to move from this spot.

The resemblance of the woman to Claire was astonishing. It seemed nearly impossible. He decided that he needed to investigate this further. So, he headed toward the doors leading into the vast hotel and entered the lobby. His eyes darted around the room, looking for the woman and found her heading toward the lifts.

Releasing a calming breath, he headed over to a leather sofa near the grand piano and took a seat. Luckily, he didn't have to wait too long for he saw her figure exiting the lifts in new attire. Now, she wore a beaded, red flapper dress and the same long coat with fur neckline. Her dark hair was hidden under the Cloche hat. She looked absolutely stunning.

He climbed to his feet and followed her out of the lobby and into the busy streets. The doorman asked her if she would like him to fetch someone to drive her to wherever she was heading.

"I'll walk, thank you." She turned rightward and headed away for Klaus's original destination.

He tried to follow her at a safe distance, but he found it hard to move through the throngs of people and keep his eye on her. At one point, he lost sight of her and stopped dead in his tracks, and cursed.

She moved father swiftly for a human. His eyes darted around trying to find her again then he smelt it…_blood_. He felt his mouth water and he tried to use his senses to help him find the source.

He was able to find where the smell originated which was a dark alleyway. There wasn't much light shining between the two large buildings, so he couldn't get a good look of the pair occupying the space. However, his ears were able pick up the familiar sound of a vampire feeding from its prey.

Before long, he heard the recognizable soft voice, "You have no reason to fear me, dear. I just need a quick drink and you happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. You will remember nothing. Now, I have a show to attend…"

Klaus quickly distanced himself from the only exit of the alleyway and watched as the woman he had been trailing reveal herself to the bright lights.

His eyes took her all in. Her hand traveled up to her mouth where she lightly ridded the small drop of blood from the corner of it and dipped the finger into her mouth. He watched the veins surrounding her eyes appear then quickly disappear as she licked her lips.

Klaus allowed a grin to appear on his face. She certainly was a delectable creature. So, the woman _was_ indeed Claire, the same woman he had been dreaming of for decades. What spirits did he please to earn such a gift as this? No longer was she some delicate human, but now a strong vampire whose years were no longer limited by age.

She began walking again and soon she was crossing the street to Goodman's, Chicago's finest theatre. The title _Nosferatu_ was plastered up on the lit up sign. How fitting.

He watched as she purchased her ticket and entered while he stopped across the street wondering if he should still follow. He had walked away before many decades ago. Then he came to realize something. After she was turned, his compulsion would have worn off and she would have remembered him.

He thought back to the brief encounter in front of the hotel. She didn't seem to recognize him. Perhaps due their very short meeting in the late 1800's wasn't long enough for her have much memory of it.

He quickly shook off the disappointment in this theory and allowed his feet to carry him across the street. He had to see if she remembered anything about him.

After purchasing a ticket, he entered the theatre's lobby and soon into the theatre which was packed with humans. His eyes searched for her. When he found her, an usher was showing her to an available seat.

She smiled politely at the young man and bypassed a few seats to settle more in the middle of the row. She shrugged off her coat and draped it over the back of her seat before sitting.

He moved past a few men conversing at the back of the theatre and stopped a row behind where she sat. He slowly took a seat on the end of the row and just gazed at her from the short distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as a young businessman appear and move between the rows of seats toward where she sat. Klaus' back straightened as he listened in on the exchange.

"It's a mighty shame for a nice-looking lady like yourself to be watching this here film by your lonesome."

Klaus could hear some cackling coming from behind him, but he didn't look back. No, he sat stock-still as he watched the scene unfolding in front of him.

He watched as her head tilt up to eye the man before her. "I appreciate the concern, but I have to be perfectly honest. I happen to prefer it."

The man didn't seem too fazed by the brush off, "Oh come on, darling. Why don't you come on back and watch the show with me and a couple of my buddies."

"What part of _I happen to prefer it_ failed to register?"

"Perhaps, you'd like some company. Maybe I could join you. They say this movie is quite scary. I wouldn't want you to get frightened."

Claire calmly cleared her throat, "What's your name?"

The man's posture seemed to straighten at question. Perhaps he felt that she was giving in. "The name's Will."

"Will," she repeated then lifted a hand to motion him closer.

He leaned down so their faces were mere inches from the others—just close enough to where she could lock her eyes onto his. "Listen, Will, I realize that this may not happen to you often, but here's a little advice…when a woman is blowing you off, it is wise to tuck your tail between your legs and _listen._ Now, as punishment…I want you to go back to your friends and admit that you are a repulsive man who wouldn't know how to treat a woman if it presented itself in neon lights. Do remember that women deserve to be treated like prized artwork, and not as insignificant beings. Now head off and don't bother another woman in this theatre." She broke her hold on him and the man blinked a few times before walking away.

Klaus grinned. She certainly gained some spunk over the decades. Maybe he should interact with her. What could it hurt?

Before the seat beside her was taken, he slipped from his seat and moved up a row. When he was standing before her, he questioned, "Is this seat taken?"

"No, it would appear not to be, but do let me point out that there are plenty of _other_ seats vacant as well."

This caused him to chuckle, "Ah yes. I am very aware, but this seat happens to be the second best seat in the whole theatre. You happened to be occupying the best of them all."

She still didn't meet his gaze, "Lucky me."

"Was that a yes or no?"

"Apparently the men in this establishment have made it a mission to irritate me…"

"Oh, I have no intentions of _picking_ you up, Miss," he declared which gained her attention.

She gave him a look of recognition, "Don't I know you?"

Klaus felt his insides freeze. "The world is quite large perhaps you have me mistaken for…"

"I do know you," she confirmed. "Didn't we run into each other earlier just outside the Drake Hotel?"

"Ah, now I remember. The world would not appear quite as large as I originally thought." He motioned to the seat again. "May I?"

She nodded, "Please."

He slides into the seat. "I witnessed the exchange between you and that desperate bloke. Most women swoon had such declarations."

She rolled her eyes, "I am in no mood for such declarations of interest especially when the man's agenda is to get me out of my dress. Honestly, whatever happened to the expression of _courting_?"

Klaus chuckled lightly, "Ooh, you certainly are a strong-willed, young vampire are you not?"

Her brows rose as she responded, "I hadn't realized that I was in the presence of another vampire." She eyed him before adding matter-of-factly, "And I am hardly young."

"Not nearly old as I," he said in return. "You are what a few decades old?"

"Almost six," she established which shocked him a bit.

That would mean she was changed around the time period following his departure of Mystic Falls.

She spoke up, "Not to be rude. I've come to watch the movie."

A slow smile spreads itself across his face, "Oh, but of course. Don't let me disturb you."

With a courteous nod, she turned her eyes to the screen just as the lights dimmed and the screen lit up.

As the credits of the film rolled, he paid them no mind. The rare beauty beside him held his full attention. Most of her face was hidden by her hat, but he was able to see the outline of her perfectly proportioned nose and pouty lips.

He swallowed and licked his bottom lip. He leaned over to whisper, "It's nice to know that I wasn't the only vampire who wanted to see this film."

He watched the corner of her mouth twitch upward ever so slightly, "It's rather interesting see how our kind is perceived in cinema."

"Oh, I concur," he agreed. "These pesky humans still haven't quite grasped our kind just yet."

"_I know_."

He spoke no more and allowed her to focus on the film now playing above them. He tried not to stare at her throughout the movie, but he found it very hard not to.

Whenever a ridiculous misinterpretation of a vampire would occur, he rather enjoyed her mocking snorts and remarks.

Afterwards, the two were stepping out of the theatre and she was chuckling. "I have to admit…it wasn't the _worst_ interpretation, but for heaven's sake that vampire was hideous!"

Klaus nodded, "That he was."

"Oh goodness where are my manners," she said shaking her head and holding up gloved hand. "I'm Claire."

Klaus took her hand into his own and leaned down to kiss her knuckles, "I am Niklaus."

"Niklaus," she repeated as he released her hand. "That's sounds really _old_. I do not mean that offensively."

Klaus shook his head, "I take no offense I assure you. It's the name given to me by my father." His eyes twinkled. "Please call me, Nik."

She nodded curtly, "If you insist." The two of them began walking. "So, Nik, what do you want to talk about now?"

"I want to talk about you," he said with a grin, and offered her his arm.

With a soft giggle, she takes it, "About me, huh?"

"Absolutely…I want to know your hopes, your dreams."

"And if I refuse to share such things," she questioned with a coy smile.

"Then I would be happily obliged to just walk in silence and simply enjoy your company."

She smiled at this. "Okay, I suppose that I could share a few things with you from here to my hotel." She then looked at him expectantly, "But only if you promise to do the same."

"Ah, I am afraid that my hopes and dreams would bore you, love."

"Then I suppose that we shall be walking in silence for I will not share anything unless you swear to do the same."

He found himself amused by her. "Fine if that is a requirement that I must agree to then so be it. I swear."

She smiled at this and soon she was sharing her life story as a human and as a vampire.

He learned about her travels abroad to places like Rome, Paris, and Spain. He found himself smiling as she continued to list the other places she had visited over the many decades that she had been a vampire.

"If I were to pick my favorite place to visit," she was saying as they continued walking. "It would definitely be Paris. The art! The music! It was all so very exhilarating. Have you been?"

"Many times," he answered. "It seems like you have accomplished a lot as a vampire. I am led to believe that you didn't take these opportunities as a human?"

She shook her head. "I was very much limited to what I was allowed to do. My father didn't care for me and wasted no time in trying to marry me off for a piece of land!"

"I have a hard time believing that anyone could not care for you," he stated kindly.

"He hated me from the moment I was born." She smiled sadly. "You see he blamed me for my mother's death. Oddly, I was being born at the time, but my mother didn't survive the childbirth and my father decided that I was at fault."

"He sounds like a lot like my own father…" his voice trailed and he quickly shook his head. "I'm sorry. Please go on."

"Well, after the man I was apparently supposed to be betrothed to up and disappeared, I suddenly remembered something someone once told me. There was a whole world out there waiting for me and I could have it all. All I had to do was want it bad enough."

Klaus smiled as she recited the very advice that he had given her over sixty years ago.

"The crazy thing is I can't remember _who_ told me this or whether I remembered it from a dream or something…" she sighed. "All I know is that I wanted to be in charge of my own life and live."

"And what happened next? Did you do it?"

She shook her head, "I thought that with the disappearance of the man I was supposed to be wed to, that it was some kind of miracle. I planned on running away as soon as I could. I planned for months. I saved up enough to get by for a while and I was all set, but…"

"Go on," he urged.

"When I was born I had a very weak immune system. I was sick a lot growing up and before I could live out my dreams I got really sick and for a while no one knew what ailed me. I was finally diagnosed with scarlet fever and it weakened me to the point where I was told that I would not survive longer than a month. It was so unfair. I finally had the courage to go off and live my own life and then suddenly I was dying. I hadn't really lived at all."

She smiled sorrowfully at him. "Kind of tragic, I suppose, but my fate hadn't been written off just yet. Little did I know that my family had taken in a vampire who would later help me…" She shook her head and laughed slightly. "Long story short…she gave me her blood, I died, and woke up and I was a vampire. And here we are."

"That is quite a story," he commented. "Perhaps fate does work in mysterious ways." It did after all bring her back to him. "So, what brings you to Chicago? Is this another place on your list of travel locations?"

She shrugged a shoulder, "I've heard it's the best place to hear some great jazz music."

"You've heard correctly," he confirmed with a grin and looked up to find that they were now standing just outside the Drake Hotel.

"This is me," she said and frowned which he found incredibly adorable. "And you weren't able to share anything about yourself."

He chuckled softly, "Have no worries. I saved you from hours of boredom."

"I don't believe that," she quickly says. "You don't seem at all boring. No…" Her eyes searched his and he felt his insides melt and he felt himself flush slightly. "No, there is something rather fascinating about you."

"If you say so," he said lightly. "I guess this is where I bid you goodnight."

"Do you not wish to see me again," she questioned slightly put out. "I'll be in town for a while. Maybe you can show me around this big city. Show me the best places to visit."

His head kept telling him to compel her to forget him again, but his heart was strongly against this. No, he wanted to spend every moment with that he could and so he found himself smiling and saying, "I'd be honored. How about we start bright and early?"

He watched as her face lit up. "Fantastic," she said excitedly. "Well, thank you for walking me back and listening to my babbling."

"I enjoyed it," he assured then reached down to take her hand and bring it his lips, bidding her farewell. "Have a good evening, Claire."

She blushed slightly at the action before heading up the stairs. She stopped at the top and turned around to look at him, "Nik, you do promise to return, right?"

He nodded his head, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else when morning comes."

This caused her dip her head slightly, "Well, good night."

"Good night, love," he said and watched her go through the doors of the hotel.


	9. Losing Your Memory

****So, this the very last of the fully written parts. It may take a bit before I can post another chapter. So, please be patient. I hope all of you like this. It was really tough finding an end to this chapter, so I hope it is good. Thanks for all the reviews! I love them!****

**Losing Your Memory**

_Chicago, 1922_

After watching Stefan further humiliate this Liam bloke, Klaus found himself liking this blood-crazed vampire more and more. In fact, he made him momentarily forget Claire and the fact that he didn't meet up with her that morning to show her the city.

Honestly, what were his intentions towards her? It wasn't like he was going to allow himself to fall for her even though he was already on the brink of doing so. No, he needed to forget about her for good this time.

The only flaw in his plan was the fact that he forgot to take her memories away when they arrived at the hotel. He thought of finding her later and doing the job, but he had a feeling that it would be much harder this time. He felt that fate had returned her to him and as a vampire of all things on top of that.

Was he really just going to give her up again?

Stefan's voice interrupted him from his thoughts. "I don't believe it…" the other male vampire said in disbelief. He slid away from Rebekah to stand beside the booth. "Claire?! Claire Salvatore is that you really you?!"

Klaus' eyes jerked toward the approaching female and he straightened in his seat as he watched Stefan embrace the giggling woman, lifting her slightly off the ground.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Claire grinned, "I missed my brother of course! The other one was driving me absolutely mad not that that should be a surprise!"

Klaus felt his insides clinch. _Brother?_ _What were the odds?_ In head sang the word _fate_.

"Damon actually let you accompany him?" Stefan asked seeming surprised by this. He shook his head then motioned toward the table, "Let me introduce you to some very fine acquaintances…"

Claire's eyes immediately cut over in Klaus' direction and they narrowed at the sight of him, but Stefan failed to notice as he went ahead with the introductions.

"This lovely specimen of a woman is Rebekah," Stefan stated brightly and Claire slid her eyes from glaring at Klaus to look to his sister and the two women smiled in greeting. "And this is her brother Nik."

"It's…a pleasure," Klaus said uneasily as her eyes returned to him.

Stefan must have taken notice of the human still sitting to Klaus' left, "Oh, Liam. I forgot about you. You can leave now just don't go far, you hear?" The man scurried off and Stefan turned back to his sister who was giving him a disproving look. "Don't start. Now, how long are you in town for?"

"I haven't quite decided yet." She looked toward the booth and addressed the pair still sitting. "Mind if I steal my brother for a bit? He and I have some catching up to do."

Rebekah looked as if she wanted to protest, but remained quiet. Klaus cleared his throat, "Of course not." She barely looked at him as she pulled Stefan away from the table to the bar.

"You're staring, brother," Rebekah commented amusingly. "She's pretty enough, I suppose."

Klaus' blue eyes moved to glare at his sister, "Oh, shut it, Bekah."

Rebekah only grinned, "Did I hit a nerve? Does my brother fancy this woman even after just meeting?" She stared at him a moment. "Wait a moment…this wouldn't be the _same_ Claire that you spoke of just after you returned from Mystic Falls?"

"It would be same," Klaus confirmed simply and took a long drink from his glass. He really shouldn't have told his sister about that time in Mystic Falls. Of course, she was only able to get the information out of him when he happened to be drunk one night after an all night bender.

"And she doesn't remember being compelled by you?"

"As far as I can tell," he answered. "The meeting was very brief…"

"But apparently had a bigger impact on you than expected," Rebekah stated as she followed his gaze to the bar. "She's lovely, Nik. I could see you two together."

Klaus scoffed, "I'm not interested in pursuing her, sister." He looked from the brother and sister idly chatting to his own sister. "I have nothing to offer her other than putting her life in danger by you-know-who."

"We haven't seen him in over a century, Nik. What's the point of living forever if _I_ am the only one at your side? Open up to her. You deserve to fall in love, brother, and before you bother arguing…you deserve to be happy."

His head shook at his sister's words. "She doesn't deserve the likes of me. I'd only bring her heartbreak." _Or worse death_, he thought miserably.

A half hour later, Klaus found himself still sitting in the booth. Rebekah had long gone to join Stefan and Claire at the bar where she managed to pry him away from reunion between siblings and dragged him toward the dance floor. Their departure left Claire sitting alone to watch the crowd around her.

He felt very compelled to join her. Despite feeling like he wasn't worthy of being around her, he couldn't stop from wanting to be _near_ her. Sure, there were a lot of beautiful and willing women in the club tonight, but his eyes could not focus on anyone but the young vampire at the bar.

He was certainly not the only male who had taken notice of the attractive brunette for Claire had politely turned down at least three dance requests.

With long inhale and exhale of breath, he reached for his drink and downed it before sliding out of the booth, heading her way. He bypassed his sister dancing with Stefan and stopped beside where Claire sat. "Mind if I join you?"

Her chin lifted as she looked the other way and coldly replied, "Actually, I do."

He was a bit taken aback by her response, so he uttered out, "Pardon?"

Her narrowed eyes glanced upward at him, "I _do_ mind."

So, she appeared to be upset with him for which he shouldn't be surprised about. He cleared his throat and began to try and redeem himself, "Look, Claire…"

Instead of listening to what he had to say, she interrupted him, "I'm pretty, right? I mean I'm not unattractive by any means that I know. To add, you were staring _a lot_ last night, so that leads me to believe that you are somewhat attracted to me, correct?"

Klaus stared and choked out, "Of course you're stun—." He was once again cut off.

"I mean we had perfectly good conversation last night. You were hanging on to every word that I spoke or at least you _acted _rather convincingly that you were. I mean I get that I haven't been around nearly as long as you however long that may be, but I'm not some stupid twit you know! Honestly, did I bore you or something?"

"No…" he began to say, but her adorable rambling continued.

"Then what was it?" she questioned incredulously. "Do you not like me? Am I not your type? Do you realize that I have _never_ acted this way about any man and I do not like how I am feeling right now! I really think that I sound rather pathetic and it's truly mortifying."

"Look, Claire, I had every intention of meeting up with you this morning…"

She cut him off yet again and her eyes turned into a glare. "Yet you didn't. You know if you weren't planning on seeing me after last night, perhaps you should have just compelled me to forget you again."

Everything seemed to freeze and his jaw suddenly dropped as he fully took in her words. Did she just say _again_? His wide eyes stared at her in disbelief.

She gave him a cold smirk. "Yes, I remember you. The moment I was turned all I could _think_ about was that day. You made me feel like I had a purpose especially when all I felt was weak and useless. You were the reason that I was able to build up the courage to see the world. Then you took that memory from me and now you act like last night meant absolutely nothing to you. Did it mean nothing to you, Nik?"

He doesn't answer. He found it very hard to find the words to express what he was feeling.

With a snort of disdain, she looked away. "Just forget it. I'm obviously not worth your time."

"Perhaps I am not worth yours," he admitted softly as he turned to walk away.

"Well, I thought you were," she replied softly stopping his movements.

He turned to face again, "I'm sorry. How can I acquit myself?"

Her head turned toward him just as the music changed to a much slower paced tune. "Dance with me."

He chuckled lightly, "I don't dance."

She shrugged a shoulder, "Then I don't forgive you." She slid from the barstool and started backing towards the dance floor. "If you don't dance with me then I will have to find another dance partner." When Klaus still didn't make the move to join her, she turned to a passing by gentleman and stopped him. "Care to dance, handsome?"

The man's face lit up and he nodded rather enthusiastically not that he could be blamed for his reaction. If a pretty thing like Claire were to come and ask you to dance, you'd be a fool to decline.

Klaus felt like the fool right now and he did not like it one bit.

His eyes watched as the man led Claire out to the dance floor with an arm wrapped around her waist. Before he knew it, Klaus found himself approaching the two even before they began dancing and pushed the man away with a single arm.

"Beat it," he growled at the man and swept Claire into his arms. The other man was rather wise not to argue. He'd likely rip the human's head off his neck if he had.

"Well, that was rather rude," she commented, but smiling nevertheless. They slowly danced together and she giggled. "I'm starting to understand why you don't dance. You're rather horrible at this." He started pulling away, but she held him firmly in place. "I'm joking. You're very adequate truth be told—a little rough around the edges, perhaps."

"You seemed to be enjoying my misery so that leads me to believe that you have forgiven me."

"Not quite," she told him simply. "You hurt my feelings when you didn't show this morning. I waited for you for hours in the lobby." Her eyes were boring into his. "Why didn't you come like you said? Was I not good enough company?"

He hated seeing the hurt in her eyes. He hated himself even more for putting that hurt there. "I wanted to be there," he admitted softly. "I feel like I have nothing to offer such an exquisite creature. Perhaps I feel that you deserve something better."

"Maybe you should let me be the judge of that," she said in response. Her eyes continued to stare up into his. "I am fond of you, Nik. I know that I want to spend some time with you and get to know you, but if you don't feel the same then tell me now."

He wanted to tell her that he didn't feel the same, but he would be denying his _real_ feelings. He wanted to spend more time with her. He wanted to spend the rest of his existence with her by his side. He still had his doubts. He still was in the mind frame that he wasn't someone who could never gain the affections of another. Always, he thought that he was nothing. He didn't have anything remotely good to offer her. They couldn't simply just settle down somewhere at least not with Mikael still wanting to kill him.

Apparently he had been contemplating a bit too long for he felt her pull away from his body and strongly state, "Look, it's obvious that I am just wasting your time, so if you'll excuse me…" She went to walk past him, but his hand stopped her by taking hold of her arm.

"I fancy you," he whispered sincerely. Her astonished eyes met his. He gave her a small smile. "Who wouldn't? The moment that I laid eyes on you…you captivated me."

This caused a smile of her own to appear on that beautiful face of hers and she asked, "I captivate you?"

"Yes," he answered nodding. "You're beautiful and strong and full of light…I enjoy you."

"Well, aren't you a one for words," she remarked and with a tilt of her head she then requested. "Join me for a drink?"

"It'd be my pleasure," he said offering her his arm. She took it and the two headed back to the bar.

An hour later, he was chuckling and shaking his head at her. "You _have_ to sit still!"

"But I've been sitting still for what seems like an eternity," she whined. "Aren't you finished yet?" She tried to take another peek at the napkin that he was using to sketch on.

He quickly pulled it away before she could get a glimpse. "I want to make sure that I get every inch of that beautiful face of yours." He winked at her and then motioned for her stay still. When she pouted, he raised a brow at her and she rolled her eyes and returned to her original posing position.

After a few minutes of eying the drawing, he was finally satisfied with the results and announced, "Okay, done."

"Finally! Let me see!"

When she made a grab for it, he held the napkin from her reach, "I don't normally share my work with others."

She glared at him playfully, "I did not just sit there for what seemed like a lifetime to not see the final work. Now, let me see it!" She made another grab for the napkin, but he jerked it away with a chuckle. "Nik, come on!" She tried again, but failed and soon they both were doubled over laughing.

"Fine," he said once they were settled. He slid the napkin across the bar.

She plucked the napkin up and held it up to view it. Her eyes took in every inch before glancing over it to meet his gaze. "It's—it's _remarkable_. It's as if I am looking into a mirror. I can't possibly look like this."

"I feel it doesn't do you justice," he commented softly. His blue eyes were locked upon hers. "I'm afraid that I couldn't possibly draw you the way that I really see you."

"And how do you really see me," she questioned in a whisper.

"Breathtakingly indescribable," he answered truthfully.

This causes her to shyly smile at him. "Preposterous. I feel like you are only saying these things just to be kind."

"I never say things that I do not mean," he stated immediately.

She eyed him for a few moments before returning to his drawing, "So, this is your passion?" When he nods, she commented, "Well you are very talented at it. Much more than I that is. I gave up on art a long time ago. I'm merely an admirer. I'm more musically inclined than artistic."

"I would love to hear you play," he whispered. He nodded toward the unoccupied piano on stage. "Care to play a little something for me?"

"Oh, I couldn't! I've never played in front of others."

"A vampire with self-confidence issues," he questioned in amusement.

"Perhaps another night," she said simply just as Stefan and Rebekah joined them.

"Well, you two seem awfully cozy," Rebekah commented with a wide grin. Klaus gave her a quick warning glare before the four of them were joined by the jazz singer, Gloria.

"What troubles you, G," Stefan questioned seeing the distress in the black woman's face.

"Benny, my damn piano player is what troubles me, Mr. Salvatore," Gloria grumbled as she quickly ordered her a drink. She took a quick swig before continuing. "Apparently, his gal has up and left the man and he decides to drown his sorrows in whisky. He can barely keep his head upright let alone play the next set! I need me a piano player and quick!'

"Well, my sister is the best piano player in the south," Stefan said immediately turning to Claire who seemed to avoid all eye contact.

"Is that so," Gloria questioned brightening up immediately. "What do you say, girl? Can you help a sister out?"

"Oh, I don't know…" Claire began as she turned toward them. "Surely you can find…"

"Don't make me beg, girlie," Gloria pleaded. "Just one song, that's all. Benny has the sheet music all up and ready so all you have to do is play."

"Come on," Rebekah spoke up. "You can't disappoint all these people."

Claire frowned and jumped slightly when she felt a hand reach for hers. Her eyes met the eyes of Klaus. He gave her an encouraging smile, "Show them what you got."

She released a sigh, "Fine. I'll do it." Gloria squealed and headed right back to the stage. She flashed an angry look at Stefan. "Remind me to rip your head off later."

"You'll be fine," Stefan laughed before he and Rebekah headed for the dance floor.

Claire quickly glanced at Klaus, "Okay, I'm nervous."

"Just breathe," he whispered and nodded his head toward the stage. "The crowd is waiting for you."

With a tight smile, she released his hand and headed up to the stage to take a seat at the piano.

Gloria quickly got the attention of the crowd, "Ladies and gents, we ready for another set and sitting in for ol' Benny is Miss Claire Salvatore!"

Klaus watched as Claire waved shyly to the crowd before focusing on the sheet music in front of her.

Soon the young Salvatore began to play which signaled to the rest of the band to begin shortly after and soon Gloria was crooning away.

It didn't long before Claire fully relaxed and got lost in the music. As he observed her from the sidelines, Klaus couldn't help but become mesmerized as she played wonderfully.

Her head turned his way and she grinned brightly at him before refocusing on the music before her.

The next evening, Klaus found himself sitting alongside Stefan having a brief conversation about topics that included his family, Rebekah and how she could potentially break Stefan's heart, and of Claire.

"She adores you," Stefan commented on the topic of his little sister. "I have _never _heard her talk about any man like she talks about you. Well, there was this _one_ guy, but he was just some stable boy back when we were humans."

Chuckling, Klaus leaned back against the bar. He let his eyes carry over to where Claire stood with Rebekah. The two women had been getting along quite well tonight.

Claire looked his way and their eyes locked for a minute. A smile immediately appeared on her face before returned her focus to his sister.

"I find her fascinating as well," he told Stefan. He had spent the entire day showing Claire what he intended to show her yesterday before he decided to back out of their plans. They had walked every inch of the great city and talked about nearly everything including his family.

While he left out the part of him daggering the majority of them, he did let her in on a bit about his father.

_"Wow, he makes my father sound like a saint_," _she had said that night. They were currently standing on the long pier overlooking Lake Michigan_.

_As he stared out at the open water with his arms resting on the railing, he felt her loop an arm through one of his which caused his gaze to return to her. _

_"It took me a very long time," she began with her eyes showing some vulnerability, "to realize that I was not worthless."_

_"You mean weak," he countered. "I am anything, but weak."_

_Normally, most would recoil from his tone, but not her. She merely smiled, "I wasn't implying that you were weak. You are strong, Nik, but you like me were told by someone who should have loved you unconditionally that you were nothing. Even a small part of you still feels like that, but I don't think that you are nothing. Your father didn't know you and that's his loss and my gain."_

Klaus couldn't shake that overjoyed feeling that those words had given him. No one had made him feel like he mattered.

Even though he had every intention of leaving her behind if necessary, he found himself reconsidering it.

Soon the women joined them and like usual Rebekah dragged Stefan out onto the dance floor when the band started to play.

"So, what were you and my brother discussing," Claire asked him as she watched the two go off with a smile.

"Just some stable boy that you used to fancy," he answered coyly and she groaned and met his gaze.

"I'll _kill _him," she grumbled.

"So, you cared for this bloke," he questioned with a teasing smile.

"I did at the time," she admitted simply. "I might have loved him I suppose, but truth be told that story ends in tragedy."

At her obvious sadness, his face softened, "I did not mean to bring up bad memories."

"No, its fine," she assured softly. "After I was turned, my feelings for him were heightened among other things so I asked him to meet me at the stables at nightfall. Little did I know just how hard it was to resist the lust for blood…I lost myself and killed him." His hand reached for hers. "I truly hated myself for it. So much in fact that I thought about my brothers and worried that I would lose control and harm one of them. So, I ran away. Granted, I didn't go very far, but I had to protect them from myself somehow."

She shook her head and laughed.

"I'm sorry. I've completely brought the mood down by drudging up the past."

"There is no need to apologize," he told her simply. "We all have stories from our past should remain in the past."

"Tell me something from _your_ past," she requested and he eyed her. She gave him an innocent look, "It's only fair. Were you ever in love?"

"Isn't there better topics of conversation that we can discuss?" He asked as he turned away to order himself another drink.

She poked at his shoulder playfully, "Why is it that I am always willing to talk about me, but when it comes to you telling me about yourself it's almost as if I am pulling teeth!"

"Maybe I don't want your opinion to change of me," he countered. When that comment earned him only a pleading look, he sighed. "Yes, there was someone that I cared deeply for."

"Was she beautiful?"

He gave her an incredulous look, but she merely smiled. "In no way in comparison to yourself, but yes she was beautiful."

Claire leaned against the bar, "What happened to her?"

"She died," he answered softly as he took a sip of his drink. "So, we are very much alike you and I."

"And I'd love to know more about this man that I am so much alike," she whispered with sincerity. She took a seat beside him and took the drink that was sitting in front of him and brought it to her lips.

He watched mesmerized. "By all means take a sip," he teased. She winked at him and placed the glass back down.

"I have something for you," he said softly. "I overheard that yesterday was your birthday…" He reached into his inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a long, rectangular box. He placed it on the bar and slid it over to where she sat, "A gift for the birthday girl."

She giggled, "You didn't have to get me anything."

"Oh, I've had this for a very long time. Open it."

When she does so, she released an awed gasp, "Nik, its gorgeous!" Her eyes took in every inch of the bracelet before meeting his. "But, I cannot take this. It's way too much and way _too _fancy for someone like me." She shook her head and closed the box then started handing it back to him.

"You can and will," he told her firmly as he took it from her. "It deserves to be worn." He re-opened the velvet box and took out the bracelet. He made a motion for one of her arms and when one was presented to him, he hooked the bracelet around her wrist. "It was once worn by a princess almost as beautiful as you." He smiled at her. "It suits you perfectly just like I knew it would."

She stared at it for many moments before meeting his gaze, "Thank you. I have never received such a thoughtful gift. I feel like I should give you something in return."

"You have blessed me enough by your presence," he assured. "You owe me nothing."

"Close your eyes," she requested.

"Why must I close my eyes?"

"Because I could lose my nerve," she responded back. "Please?"

He does so, but finds it absolutely ridiculous. He soon felt her hands grasp his face and soon the softness of her lips was against his.

He felt everything inside him freeze. He barely had time to respond before the kiss was over and he felt her back away. His eyes shot open and he took her all in.

She was looking at him expectantly and he uttered, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I've been waiting for you to find the nerve to do it yourself," she answered and swiftly he was out of his seat.

"Come with me," he commanded, grabbing her hand and led her away from the crowd and toward the back of club where the bathrooms were located. Once the two were secluded near the back door of the club, he pressed her against the wall and closed the distance between them to claim her lips again, but this time he was in control.

His actions caught her off guard for a moment, but soon he felt her hands gripping his jacket and slowly they slid up to grip his shoulders firmly. Her head tilted slightly and she opened her mouth so their breaths could mingle together as their mouths explored one another's.

His arms pulled her closer to his body. Her own form seemed to fit against his perfectly like she had been made for him and found himself never wanting to let go.

This kiss was much more passionate than the first. It held so much meaning and it gave him so much hope.

And it completely terrified him.

He pulled away abruptly, "I can't do this."

She just smiled and reached up to pull his face back in, "Of course you can…"

He backed away distancing their bodies, "No. You deserve much more than the likes of me."

"I disagree," she countered with a quick shake of her head. "Look, I get that your father treated you like you were nothing, but…" Her eyes bored into his as she finished, "I want you because it's what my heart wants."

He shook his head at her words trying to convince himself that she wasn't thinking rationally. "I can't be who you want me to be, Claire. I'm bad person. I've killed people even those close to me. There is nothing remotely good about me, don't you see?"

She went to speak again, but he quickly cut her off.

"I'm not the settling type, don't you understand? I don't stay in one area long. I leave and never look back."

"Then I'll go with you," she said in return without missing a beat.

This caused him to just stare at her almost as if he couldn't believe her words. "What?"

"Wherever you go, I will go with you," she answered strongly and that's what did it. Those words broke through his hard exterior.

So, at her admission, he brought her body close again and let his lips crash against hers again.

He wanted to be nowhere else but here just holding her in his arms and never letting go. Everything seemed absolutely perfect at this very moment.

Then everything seemed to freeze. Even in the middle of their kiss, his ears were able to detect the change in the atmosphere. It caused him to pull away slightly at the muffled sounds that appeared just outside the walls of the club.

"What's wrong," she whispered, but he paid her no mind. The sounds were getting closer and that's when he heard the sirens.

His heart sank as shots rang out and the Chicago Police Department made their appearance known as they blasted through the club's front doors.

His eyes closed briefly before he quickly moved himself and Claire into the bathroom nearby.

"What's going on?" she questioned in alarm. "Why are those men shooting up the club?"

He doesn't answer. His eyes trailed every inch of her face, the same face that he would never want to get harmed by anyone especially himself. As it became painfully clear, he knew right then what he needed to do. And the decision made his heart break in a million pieces which would be difficult to put back together again.

Even though she declared that she would follow him if he were to leave, she had to forget about him. He couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to her especially because of him. His hands shook as he took hold of her soft hands.

"Claire," he croaked out locking her eyes with his own. "I want…no I _need_ you to forget about me and my sister. We never met. You never knew me…" His voice cracked at every word that he spoke.

His hand reached for the wrist that wore the bracelet that he just given her and he unclasp it then pocketed it. He knew he was running out of time and he still needed to get to Rebekah.

With another deep gaze into her eyes, he grabbed each side of her face and brought her face close to place a pained kiss to her forehead. His eyes closed tightly as a single tear fell slowly down his cheek.

With a staggering breath, he spoke, "Thank you for showing me what love really feels like. We will meet again, love. I promise." He backed away and continued. "Stay out of sight until things blow over and go and find your brother."

He watched regrettably as she nodded obediently and he quickly exited the bathroom to go find Rebekah.

After ensuring that Stefan's memories had been taken as well, he quickly headed off in the direction that he sent his sister and soon they would be on their way.


	10. Dinner with the Enemy

**Sorry it took so long. I had to find the time to write this one and I didn't have a whole lot of it. However, it is the longest of all my chapters so that's something nice for you all. Thanks again for all the reviews. The Ball chapter follows this one, so more Niklaire...lol yes, I have named my couple hehee. ENJOY!**

**Dinner with the Enemy**

_Mystic Falls_

Claire found herself awakening from a very deep slumber and she quickly took in her surroundings feeling slightly alarmed. When she found herself staring at the very familiar setting of her bedroom, her body relaxed and she pushed herself up to sit.

She rubbed her face with her hand then quickly remembered something. Her eyes darted to shoulder and found it completely healed.

Then it all came back to her.

Klaus had saved her life.

Before she could fully digest the thought, Damon entered with a blood bag. "Good, you're up." He tossed the bag in hands. "Pep up. We have another _glorious_ day ahead of us."

He took a seat at the foot of her bed and eyed her as she drank.

"What?"

"Almost lost you last night," he commented softly.

Her eyes softened. "I'm going to be fine."

"I can't believe that dick actually fed you his blood," he uttered shaking his head. "I mean I get that he has this fascination towards you…"

Claire rolled her eyes and placed the half empty blood bag on her bedside table. "He isn't fascinated. He's just bored and is looking for ways to annoy us." She refused to think that his feelings were actually genuine.

"Perhaps, but I still feel like he wants you and that gives me the creeps."

She chuckled, "Well, I don't want him." With a shake of her head, she continued, "He's taken too much from us and him saving me isn't going to change my opinion of him."

"Good to know," Damon said as he stood up. He took a couple of steps toward where she sat and placed a kiss atop her head. "Don't ever do that to me again, you hear?"

She smiled at him, "Careful. It's showing again."

"What's that?"

She shrugged and teased, "Your humanity."

"Bite me," he threw back before walking out the door.

She merely chuckled and fell back against the pillows and released a content sigh. One of her arms slid under the pillow that her head was resting atop of and it rubbed up against something.

Her brow furrowed as she sat up and let her head reach for the object, pulling it out. In her hand was a rectangular, velvet box. A white ribbon was tied around it and into a bow atop the lid and nestled under the ribbon was small card which read _Happy Birthday_.

She smiled slightly thinking that it was from Damon or even Stefan maybe, so she plucked up the card and flipped it to see if she was correct. Her smiled quickly went away when the words _From Klaus_ were written on the other side.

"You have got to be kidding me," she whispered in disbelief. She lifted the lid of the box and gasped when she saw what was resting on the black cushion.

In all of her years she had never seen anything quite as beautiful as the bracelet that was before her.

She let her fingers trace over the texture of it before she quickly shook her head and closed the lid with a snort.

Honestly, what was his game anyway? Save her life and then buy her expensive gifts to what? Buy her off so she'll join up on his side?

"Not going to happen you hybrid prick," she growled and tossed the box aside. She stared it a few moments and went to reach for it again, but Damon's voice hollered out from downstairs.

"Let's go, Claire, get a move on!"

She glared at the box, and called back, "I'll meet you later." Then softer, she grumbled. "I have somewhere to go first."

Klaus walked around his newly renovated home. Everything was finally finished and he wanted nothing more but to enjoy it. And yet as he stood leaning against the mantle, and sipping a glass of bourbon, he could not.

Stefan still had his coffins and was not making effort to relinquish them even after his good deed.

His mind immediately went to Claire and wondered if she had found the bracelet. He wasn't expecting some grand thank you from her, but maybe some reaction would fulfill him in some way.

His head lifted from staring at his drink when the doorbell chime filled the house. He placed his glass on the mantle and headed to the front door.

When he opened it, he was not expecting the person to be standing on his front stoop wearing a scowl.

Despite her expression, he was delighted to see her. "Well, Claire, what a pleasant surprise." He moved aside. "Please come in."

She brushed by him and he closed the door behind her. He found her looking around the foyer.

"Like the place? I could give you a tour if you'd like."

She spun around and pulled the velvet box from her jacket. "What the hell is this?"

"A birthday gift," he answered with a bright smile.

"How did you even…" she began before chuckling bitterly. "Never mind that fact probably wasn't hard to find out." She made the move to hand the bracelet back over. When he didn't go to take it, she bit out, "Take it."

"It was a gift. It's never polite to take one's gift back."

"I don't _want _it," she growled.

That stung a little bit. He would have rather preferred her reaction back in the 20's, but with everything that has happened he shouldn't be surprised by this one.

"Keep it anyway," he said simply as he turned and headed for the study where he had left his drink.

He heard her following him. "Just take it," she pleaded. "I don't want anything from you."

"And why is that," he questioned.

"This doesn't change anything," she points out. "I'm still on the opposing side and I will not be _bought _into switching. That's not how I operate."

He stared at her in bewilderment. "Is that what you believe is my intention?"

"Of course it is," she fired back. "Why else would do such a thing? You don't care about anybody but yourself." She tossed the velvet box onto a nearby table. "I will not be fooled by you." She spun around and headed for the door leaving him there in dismay.

This Claire was definitely harder to impress. He let a brief smile appear upon his face as he stared at the empty space. He wasn't planning on giving up. He'll just have to try a bit harder.

Claire shut off the water from the shower and stepped out, reaching for a towel and wrapping it around herself.

It had been a few days since her encounter with Klaus at his mansion and she was rather glad that she hadn't had another meeting with that man.

As she dried her hair with another towel, she couldn't help but wonder what he was planning. He obviously wasn't going to give up on finding the coffins or with further pursuing her much to her annoyance.

Shaking her head, she continued to squeeze the access water from her dark hair.

After a few minutes, she headed toward her room, but immediately stopped when she heard a few notes being played from her piano. Knowing fully well that Stefan and Damon were not home, she headed in that direction cautiously.

When she stuck her head in, she growled when she saw a certain Original seated on the bench playing. She stomped into the room. "What are you doing here—in my _room_?"

As he stopped playing, Klaus looked her way and grinned obviously enjoying her current attire. His obvious approval did not go unnoticed and she was suddenly wishing that she had brought clothes with her to the bathroom to change into.

"What do you want, Klaus?" she asked as she kept a firm hold of the towel that she wore.

He slid off the piano bench, "Pardon my intrusion, but I was hoping to have a word with Stefan."

"I don't know where he is so you can leave now," she said dismissively and headed for her closet.

"I don't mind waiting," he said simply which unnerved her.

She turned and gave him a tight smirk, "Well, I suppose that there is no chance of getting you to leave now is there?"

He shrugged a shoulder innocently.

She rolled her eyes. "You can wait for him in the library _downstairs_."

He nodded. "Will you be joining me?"

"I hadn't planned on it," she grumbled.

"Well, what if I preferred to wait for your brother up here?" With the words, he sat down on her bed with a challenging grin.

Her nostrils flared slightly, "Give me a few minutes and I will join you downstairs."

He shot to his feet, "Fantastic. I will fix us up a couple of drinks."

She shook her head, "Very well. Make mine a double while you're at it."

When she finally dressed and dried her hair then put it in a ponytail, she reluctantly headed downstairs to the library where Klaus waited. He sat on one end of the couch and his head lifted at her arrival.

He hopped from his seat to fix her a fresh drink, "What's your flavor, love?"

"Scotch," she answered simply then added, "on the rocks."

He nodded and scooped up some ice from the ice bucket, "So, what are your plans for the day?"

She plopped down on the opposite end of the couch he had vacated. At his question, she smirked, "Are you asking if I'm going to be heading off to the location of your coffins?"

He turned around and chuckled, "Always jumping to conclusions, dear Claire." He walked over to hand her the drink. "Can't I just wonder about your day?"

She tilted her head to give him an incredulous look, "No, you can't. You honestly can't tell me that you aren't wondering just how you're going to convince me to tell you where your family is?"

He retook his previous seat. "There's always compulsion for that."

She snorted, "You could try."

He chuckled at this, "Ah, right. You're drinking vervain just like the rest of them."

"You can thank yourself for that," she points out. "We wouldn't have to drink vervain if we didn't have to constantly worry that you would take away our free will." When he just stared at her, she took a quick sip of her drink and spoke, "Forget it. You don't care what I think. Look, we don't have to continue this futile conversation. Let's wait for Stefan in silence."

He smiled solemnly, "As you wish."

It nearly took Stefan an hour before he _finally _returned home and Claire couldn't have been more relieved.

"What's going on here?" Stefan asked as he entered the library to find Claire sitting on one end of the couch and Klaus on the other.

"Oh, your sister and I were just getting to know one another," Klaus said charmingly looking at Claire who glared.

Stefan gave his sister a curious glance.

"I couldn't get him to leave," she explained in exasperation and then gave him a look. "He was in my _room_."

"Women and their personal space," Klaus commented with a chuckle. "Rebekah is the same way."

Claire climbed to her feet, "Okay, I gotta get out of here." As she walked past Stefan, she whispered encouragingly. "Good luck."

Klaus called out to her just before she left the room, "It was a pleasure talking to you, darling. Perhaps next time I could hear you play the piano for me. I would be very delighted to hear you play."

She shook her head and quickly left the room, heading to the old witch's house to stand guard over the coffins while Bonnie continued to search for a way to open them.

An hour later, Claire was sitting rather bored and staring at four dusty coffins. She had gotten word from Stefan that Elena and Bonnie had headed off to find Bonnie's mom. Apparently, she was a witch herself and could possibly help to get the spelled coffin open.

So, Stefan was with them and Damon was off to investigate Alaric's new, potentially psycho girlfriend.

As she stared at the coffins, she wondered if just simply hiding the coffins would be enough against Klaus. Her eyes stopped to focus on just one particular coffin, the one in the middle which held Elijah.

She walked over to it and slowly opened it to reveal the gray-faced Original and found herself quickly glancing at the dagger in his chest.

Biting her bottom lip, she lifted a hand up to reach for it.

Her phone suddenly buzzing caused her to jerk back and quickly shut the lid back. With a choked chuckle, she pulled her phone out and pressed it to her ear, "Damon, what's up?"

"Bad news, Klaus found out where the coffins are," he said immediately which caused her to look upward at the ceiling trying to hear any signs of movement.

"What do you need me to do?" she questioned quickly.

"Get as many coffins out of there as you can. I'm on my way." The line ended and she shoved her phone back into her pocket. Her eyes of course went to the locked coffin first.

It seemed more important and more valuable. So, it would be the first to go obviously.

As she stepped forward, she passed by Elijah's coffin and paused. Without another thought, she lifted the lid once more and then reached in. She pulled the dagger from his chest then went over to where her bag sat and pulled out a scrap of paper. She quickly wrote a simple message and then hurried back over to where Elijah laid.

After placing note in his left, front jacket pocket, and then placing the dagger back in her bag, she jogged back over to the locked coffin and heaved it off its platform.

When she returned to the witch's house after compelling some Lockwood gardeners to put the locked coffin in the cave that no vampire can enter, she found herself in the middle of a Damon-Klaus stand-off.

"Sorry to interrupt," she spoke up entering the room fully and seeing the coffins revealed. "Did I miss something fun?"

Klaus glared in her direction, "Your brother and I were just discussing the fourth coffin that appears to be _missing_." He eyed her curiously.

"Sorry, I'm not going to tell," she said in a sing-song voice as she smirked.

"I saved your life," he growled.

"And I owe you nothing," she retorted. "Remember? You asked for nothing in return and I am just honoring the arrangement."

Damon gave her a proud look before speaking, "Same rules apply. You know leverage and all. I get that you want your family back, but I have a feeling that you want what's in that coffin a lot more."

Klaus glowered in Damon's direction before storming out of the cellar and up the stairs.

When he was sure Klaus was out of earshot, he turned back to Claire. "One coffin, sis, really?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "I got the most important one didn't I? I had very little time, okay? It took me a minute figure out what to do with the damn thing."

"So, where is it?"

"The place that Mason took you," she said rather proudly. "I figured it'd be safe from any vampire and a place Bonnie could continue to work her magic. How'd that end up by the way?"

"Her mother's useless. She has no powers," Damon filled in.

"Fabulous," she deadpanned. "Now what?"

"We think of a new plan," he answered.

"Can I offer a suggestion?" she asked cautiously as she reached into her bag resting against her side.

He raised a questioning brow.

"Hear me out," she requested, "before ripping off my head, okay?"

"Just spit it out already," he told her and crossed his arms.

"Before I took off with the fourth coffin, I made a decision that I believe could help us…" She pulled out the dagger and held it up.

Instead of looking angry, Damon looked in impressed, "Did my little sister un-dagger an Original all on her own?"

"It's not like it took much effort," she replied, disliking his teasing tone.

"Which Original was it? The pirate guy, the pretty boy, or…"

"Elijah of course," Claire answered. "He owes us for his betrayal and he, other than Rebekah, would easier to talk into helping considering that he was daggered more recently than the other two brothers."

"Probably a wise choice or a stupid one," he remarked honestly.

"And there it is," she scoffed. "You think this is a bad idea."

"Oh, a very dangerous one, but hey we needed a new plan and here one is," he said and waved the dagger. "We still need to sell our brother on this plan."

Hours later, they were standing in front of the fireplace when Stefan finally walked in.

"You're both alive, so I assume Klaus didn't get his coffins."

"Not quite," Damon said and nodded his head at Claire. "She was only able to get one coffin out before he showed up."

"The locked one," Claire confirmed.

"Probably the better choice," Stefan commented.

"Yeah, you know if you were banking on Bonnie's mom being able to get the thing opened…you're screwed. She doesn't have any powers."

"I'm surprised," Stefan said in a tight smile. "It's been that kind of night."

"Is Elena okay," Damon questioned.

Before she could blink, Claire watched Stefan spin around and punch Damon in the face.

She flashed over to Damon and questioned, "What the hell was that for?"

Damon groaned, "I take it that you two had a heart-to-heart? And I guess you don't want to talk about it?" He straightened, and muttered, "Noted. Maybe we should talk about this instead." He pulled the dagger from his pants and shows it Stefan.

"What did you do?" he questioned lowly.

"Actually, what did our sister do?" Damon corrected and Stefan's surprised eyes flashed to Claire who shrugged innocently.

The next morning, Claire was making her way across a grassy field and stopped when she sees a lone figure standing there waiting.

A brief smile appears on her face when she recognizes the familiar, suit-wearing, Elijah.

She made her way forward, "Elijah, welcome back to the land of the living."

He smirked, "Claire, I'm surprised it was you that un-daggered me. I would have figured you'd be angry…"

"I understand why you did it," she replied. "I feel like you've been punished enough by being daggered and then stored in a box for a few months, so no grudges on my end." She tilted her head slightly. "So, how was the reunion with your _lovely_ brother?"

"Eventful," he admitted. "Niklaus and I had a few words which might have resulted in some damaging of property."

This caused Claire to grin, "I wished I could have been there."

"Well, well, well," said another voice as some footsteps approach. "Elijah, my favorite Original—back from the dead."

"Damon," Elijah greeted as he glanced at Claire again in question.

"Don't worry," she assured. "He trusts my judgment."

"I'm quite surprised that my sister was so bold to un-dagger you. It's so _clever_."

Claire rolled her eyes, "Just get on with it Damon."

"Yes, please tell me why we have gathered here."

"We need your help," Claire said immediately. "I really hope that I was right in un-daggering you."

"I'm here, aren't I? Let's talk."

"I'll start with an easy question," Damon spoke up. "Any idea what Klaus killing weapon could be magically sealed in a mystery box?"

Later that night, Claire found herself standing alongside her brothers just outside Klaus' mansion.

"I can't believe that we're standing here about to go have dinner with _him_," Claire muttered.

"Hey, you got the ball rolling," Damon pointed out which caused her to roll her eyes.

"I'm still all for bailing," Stefan muttered disgruntled.

With a sigh, Claire reached forward and pressed the doorbell. The door opens revealing a smiling Elijah.

"Niklaus, our guests have arrived." When Claire entered first, Elijah immediately took hold of her hand and kissed her knuckles. "Claire, you look beautiful as always."

After he released her hand, she smiled in return and slipped off her jacket. "Why thank you Elijah. You clean up nicely yourself."

Klaus' voice broke in, "I would have to agree with my brother. You look striking as usual." He stepped forward to request her hand to kiss and she stared at it then handed over her jacket instead.

"Thanks," she said in fake sweetness.

He smirked and then addressed her brothers as he handed the jacket to a compelled servant. This made Claire glare at him, but he quickly ignored it. "So, my brother tells me that you seek an audience. That's very bold. Shall we discuss the terms to agreement like civilized individuals?"

He motioned toward a table set up and ready with two leggy blondes serving as waitresses.

"It's better to indulge him," Elijah spoke up and followed his brother to the table.

The three Salvatore's approached the table and Stefan smirked, "I didn't come here to eat, Klaus. In fact, I didn't want to come here at all. But I was told, I had to because you would hear us out."

Klaus took a seat and eyed Stefan. "Well, we can sit and eat or I can reach down your throat and pull out your insides. The choice is yours."

"Honestly, can't we go one evening without the death threats," Claire questioned with an exasperated look.

Klaus tilted his head at her, "I wouldn't have to threat anyone, love, if I didn't feel it was necessary." This earned him a glare, and he returned his attention to Stefan. "Well?"

Clearing his throat, Stefan said, "Fine." He walked over to sit on the opposite side of the table from Klaus and Elijah to the seat to Klaus' right which left two seats across from Elijah.

Claire eyed the seat closer to Stefan and farther away from Klaus, but Damon quickly zipped past her and slipped into the seat before she could blink. She glared down at him and he simply grinned while Klaus stood to pull out the seat closest to his.

He smiled, "Come now, I won't bite."

Releasing a breath, she walked over and sat down. She leaned over to whisper fiercely into Damon's ear. "I hate you."

Minutes later, the five of them were eating with the exception of Stefan who refused.

"You've lost your appetite," Klaus commented.

"Eat," Damon requested. "I thought we were going to leave the grumpy Stefan at home."

Stefan threw him a hard look.

"Isn't this nice," Klaus spoke up eyeing Claire with interest then addressed the rest of the table. "The five us dining together…it's such a treat." He looked at Damon with a smirk. "Was this what you had in mind when you pulled the dagger from my brother?"

"Actually," Claire cut in. "_I_ pulled the dagger out of Elijah." This admission earned her a look of surprise from the man to her right. She snorted. "Why is it that every time I say that statement it is quickly followed by a look of surprise? I can be conniving too you know."

"I didn't think you had it in you," Klaus replied in amazement.

"Well, I had three options," she said smiling conspiringly. "I mean there was that one brother that looked like he had been that coffin for _very_ long time and therefore would have been more pissed at you. Then there was the younger good-looking one…he could have been _very_ interesting." She shrugged a shoulder. "However, it was no contest. Elijah happens to be the one Original I respect." She smiled brightly across the table at Elijah who nodded his head appreciatively. She returned her gaze to Klaus, "I knew how he felt about you so the more the merrier."

"Well, Elijah and I have had our share of quarrels over the century. But we always make it through."

Stefan spoke up, "Kind of like you and Rebekah, right? Where is she by the way? Last I checked she was still daggered because you were too afraid to face her."

Klaus gave him a knowing grin, "If you're referring to the fact that Rebekah knows I killed our mother, I've already come clean to Elijah."

"Hey, Stef," Damon chimed in. "Remember when you killed dad?" He nudged Claire. "And remember when you helped him with that?"

Her jaw dropped indignation and avoided Klaus' amused gaze. "He deserved it," she muttered.

"You both might want to dial down the judgment until dessert."

"We're here to make a deal, Damon." Stefan pointed out with a tight smile, "Doesn't mean we need to kiss his ass for seven courses."

Claire lifted her wine glass in agreement.

"I'm just saying we have a long evening ahead of us. Pace yourself."

After a few minutes of silence, Elijah brought up Elena to Stefan and well that didn't go over too well.

Klaus made snide little comment and Stefan was ready to leave, but then Damon settled things down by suggesting that Elena should be left on the "do not discuss" pile.

However, Klaus wouldn't let it go. "It's just the allure of the Petrova doppelganger, still so strong." He looked over at Elijah. "What do you say, brother? Should we tell them about Tatia?"

Placing his cloth napkin on the table, Elijah chuckled and shook his head, "Now why should we discuss matters long since resolved? "

Klaus dismissed his attempt to avoid the subject. "Well, given their shared affection for both Elena and Katerina, I think our guests might be curious to learn about the originator of the Petrova line."

Damon spoke up, "Well, we're not going anywhere Elijah. Please, do tell." He took a sip of his wine and motioned for him to speak.

Claire found herself intrigued as well.

Elijah cleared his throat, "When our family first settled here, there was a girl named Tatia, she was an exquisite beauty. Every boy of age desired to be her suitor, even though she'd had a child by another man. And none loved her more than Niklaus."

Claire found herself looking right at Klaus when his brother made that comment. She actually saw a look of sadness pass over his features, but then his eyes lifted to meet hers and she quickly looked away and continued to listen.

Klaus spoke up, "I'd say there was one who loved her at least as much." Elijah nodded solemnly.

"Wait a minute, so you both loved the same girl?" Stefan asked, intrigued and slightly amused.

Elijah nodded, "Our mother was a very powerful witch. She sought to end our feud over Tatia and so she took her. Klaus and I would later learn that it was Tatia's blood that we consumed in the wine on the night where our mother performed the spell which turned us into vampires. Tatia wouldn't make a decision between the two of us, so for a time Niklaus and I... grew _estranged_. Harsh words were traded, and we even came to blows, didn't we, brother?"

With simple nod, Klaus continued, "But in the end we realized the sacred bond of family."

Elijah added, "Family above all."

They both raised their wine glasses and Klaus repeated, "Family above all."

When they clink glasses together, Claire eyed her two brothers sadly. It seems the pattern is happening again and she didn't like it one bit.

Elijah cleared his throat and placed his drink back down. "So, why don't we move this evening along and discuss the terms of this proposal?"

Damon placed his napkin onto his plate, "That's very simple. Klaus gets his coffin back, in exchange, he and the Original extended family leave Mystic Falls forever. And we all live happily ever after. No grudges."

"The deal sounds fair, brother." Elijah said to his brother.

Klaus gave him a snort and shook his head, "I don't think you understand, Elena's doppelganger blood insures that I will always have more hybrids to fight those that oppose me. I will never leave her behind."

"There wouldn't be those that oppose you if you weren't such a power-hungry pri— " She was immediately cut off by Damon.

"Claire," he warned.

With a soft chuckle obviously not letting her comment sway him, Klaus gets up and starts to pace. "Let's say I do leave her here, under your protection, what then? How long before one of you turns her into a vampire? Or worse, how long before she dies caught between your feuding? You see, each one of you gentlemen truly believes that you're the one that can protect her, and that is simply a delusion. Gentlemen, the worst thing for Elena Gilbert is..." He eyed Stefan and Damon and finished, "the two of you."

After an intense thought provoking moment, Damon gets up. "I'm gonna get some air."

Claire pushed back her chair, "I will join you." She followed her brother out and soon they were joined by Elijah outside.

"You are laying it on a bit thick in there," Damon remarked once Elijah stepped out onto the front stoop.

"Klaus doesn't suspect a thing," Claire points out defending Elijah. "He's doing what he's supposed be doing. Lay off."

Damon snorted.

"Have no worries," Elijah clarified. "I'm not going against our arrangement."

"We'll see about that," Damon grumbled and the three headed back inside to prepare for the next phase of their plan.

The three of them re-entered the room where they found Stefan and Klaus staring each other down while one of the blonde servants laid dead at Klaus' feet.

Claire felt her jaw clench as Damon spoke.

"What do you say, Klaus? It's time for you to put something on the table. We've made our offer, now you counter."

He wiped his lips with a napkin before retaking his seat with Elijah standing beside him. "Okay. I offer Elena's future happiness. You see, what she needs right now is to be rid of you lot. And to fall in love with a human, maybe that nice football player, you know the blond one?"

Damon gave him an incredulous look, "Matt Donovan? Really?"

Klaus gave him a wide smile, "Yeah, why not? They'll marry, live a long and fruitful life, and pop out a perfect family."

Stefan snorted and added, "And continuing the Petrova bloodline. Every few hundred years, you'll have a new doppelganger to drain and never run out of hybrids, right Klaus?"

Klaus shrugged a shoulder, "Consider it a small return on my investment in her well being. See after you hand me back the coffin, I'll ensure her safety for the rest of her natural life. You know it's what's best for her." He gets up and walks towards Stefan. "So, what do you say Stefan, do we have a deal?"

Stefan meets him halfway causing Damon to question, "What are you doing?"

"Stefan," Claire warned.

With a grin, Klaus held his hand out to Stefan.

Stefan grabbed his hand and he gave him a tight, non-convinced smirk. "Nice try, Klaus. But no deal."

With a snarl, Klaus swiftly breaks Stefan's arm. He kicks his leg and breaks it as well. Then he shoved Stefan's hand into the fireplace, and Stefan yells out at his hands starts to burn. Damon attempts to rush over to him, but Elijah pushes him against the wall.

Claire stepped forward to help Stefan, but Klaus warned her back. "I wouldn't, sweetheart. I'll shove his whole body in."

"Stop it," she pleaded when he continued his hold on her brother. Hearing Stefan's pained yell was too much for her to handle especially when she watched his arm ignite with flames and burn.

"Stop," Damon finally shouted as he was held back by Elijah.

Pulling Stefan away from the fire, Klaus looked fiercely in his direction, "Now, bring me my coffin before I burn him alive."

With a glower, Damon bit out as he was released, "I'll get it." With a look towards Stefan, he walked out.

Klaus turned his attention to Elijah. "Go with him, brother, you keep him honest. And when you return, I will make good on my promise to you and I will hand over our family." With a fixed stare, Elijah nodded and left the room.

"You go too, Claire," Klaus requested not looking at her.

With a glare, she looked to Stefan who nodded at her and she hurried out.

Minutes later, she follows Elijah and Damon back into the make-shift dining room where Klaus stares at them in question, "Elijah... why haven't you left?"

Elijah smirked at him "Where are you manners, brother? We forgot dessert." He reaches over to where the other blonde servant was standing and uncovered the platter she was holding revealing two daggers.

He stepped away from Stefan and looked wildly at his older brother. "What have you done?"

Elijah glared, "What have you done? You see I've learned not to trust your vulgar promises, Klaus. We're doing this on my terms now."

Behind them, their younger brother Kol enters the room.

Klaus choked out, "Kol." Claire stared in shock when Klaus actually looked frightened.

Kol greeted sadistically, "Long time, brother."

Klaus made a quick move toward the daggers, but a blurred arrival of the second eldest brother Finn suddenly appeared. Finn grabbed the dagger just before Klaus and Klaus pleaded, "Finn, don't." However, it didn't stop his brother from stabbing him through the hand.

When Finn pulled the dagger free from his hand, Klaus rushed away and ran into Rebekah, "Rebekah?

She shoved a dagger in his stomach and growled, "This is for our mother."

With a groan, Klaus falls back into Kol's arms and his restrained.

Elijah looks at the Salvatore siblings, "You're free to go."

Damon nodded over at Stefan who still stood by the fireplace and grabbed Claire by the arm, pulling her toward the exit.

"This is family business." Elijah finished and the three of them left them to it.

Later that evening, Claire was playing a few chords of Beethoven's _Für Elise_ on her piano when she felt a whoosh of wind appear behind her and she felt her breath leave her as she stopped playing.

Spinning around on the bench, she came to find no one behind her. Instead her eyes fell upon the familiar rectangular, velvet shaped box. She eyed it in contempt before noticing a note placed under it.

Standing, she headed over and picked it up and unfolding it. Three simple words were written eloquently on it. _I forgive you_. With a sigh, she shook her head. He was determined. She couldn't deny him of that.

She picked up the box and opened it to gaze at the bracelet. With a slight frown, she found herself closing the box and heading over to her vanity. She placed in a drawer and went off to get ready for bed.


	11. Save Me a Dance

**Um, so wow are all of you jumping off the Klaus/Claire train and wanting her to hook up with Kol now? I have torture all of you so much that you would rather her be with Kol? :) Sorry, folks. Yes, there is some Claire/Kol interaction, but that will be all. **

**Also, I apologize for making all of you wait. I've had a few moments of writer's block as well as being busy with work. Honestly, I barely have time for me, so the story will just have to take a backseat.**

**As for the reviews and new story followers, I am amazed at the support and I love it. Keep it coming!**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing. **

**Save Me a Dance**

After nearly wanting to tear Rebekah's head off for going after Elena last night, Klaus reluctantly followed his mother into the other room and let her know how displeased he was in his sister.

She advised him to give his siblings time to forgive and brought up the topic of the ball that she had pulled together rather quickly which would be taking place tonight.

"So, who will you be bringing to the ball this evening," she asked him with a coy smile.

He chucked, "Don't be ridiculous. You're lucky that I am even going."

"Well, I wish that you would reconsider. It's going to be a magical evening."

When she walked out of the room, he considered her offer and it wasn't a huge surprise that the person he thought of when she asked who he was bringing happened to have been Claire.

He smiled and knew what he had to do.

Claire walked down the stairs of the boarding house after hearing the doorbell chime. When she reached the door, she pulled it open and opened her mouth to greet whoever was at the door, but only found an empty porch. "Uh, okay?" She looked around and stepped forward, nearly tripping over something lying on the doormat. "What the…" She bent down and picked up a rather large gift decked out with a white bow and card which had her name eloquently written on it.

With another glance around, she took the gift inside and carried it upstairs to her room. She placed the gift down on her bed and plucked up the card. She slipped the card from the envelope and read, "Please join the Mikaelson Family, this evening at seven o'clock, for dancing, cocktails, and celebration." She stared at the invitation blankly. "Who the hell are the Mikaelson's and where the hell is this gathering taking place?" She flipped over the invitation and her eyes widened when she saw the handwriting written on the back.

_Save me a dance_

_Fondly,_

_Klaus_

"Seriously," she huffed and tossed the invitation aside. She eyed the gift and found that she was way too curious to just toss the thing in the trash. She could at least peek inside. What could it hurt?

She reached forward and lifted the lid slowly revealing something that took her breath away.

Inside the box was probably one of the most beautiful gowns she has ever seen. The color was blue and it was very traditional, but vintage and embellished with silver beading which was gorgeous beyond belief. Her hands pulled it out to admire the elegance of the garment. It embodied everything that Claire was and that scared the living daylights out of her.

Shaking her head, she started to shove the dress back into the box, but decided to do so a bit more delicately.

She didn't know what kind of game that Klaus was playing, but she was not falling for it.

Her phone buzzed from its place on her nightstand and she was glad for the distraction. She walked over and answered it, "Hey, Elena. What's up?"

"Can you meet me at the Grill?"

"Sure, meet you there in five minutes?"

"Great."

Minutes later, Claire was sitting beside Elena and laughed as she held Elena's invitation in her hand, "So you were invited to this thing too?"

Elena gave her a look, "You were invited?"

Claire nodded, "By the big, bad hybrid himself along with an absolutely breathtaking dress." Then she grumbled, "The ass." She gave the other brunette a pleading look, "Please don't tell my brothers. I'll never hear the end of it."

"You're secret is safe with me," Elena chuckled.

Claire nodded at Elena's secret message from Esther. "What does Mommy Original want with you?"

"I don't know, but there is only one way to find out."

Claire did not like the look that the Gilbert girl was giving her, "Oh, no. I know that look, Elena. I thought you said that Stefan and Damon were not going."

"I did, which is why I need a more drama-free bodyguard tonight."

"You want to me to face the wrath of my brothers…_again_ at a ball being held by the Originals?"

"Look, I can't deal with either of your brothers right now."

"Why because Stefan is channeling is feelings all toward Klaus or because you made out with Damon and it would be all awkward?" When Elena's jaw dropped, Claire laughed, "That witchy friend of yours is quite the gossiper especially when we were on coffin duty."

"So, you see my dilemma," Elena said pointedly just as a certain blonde Original strolled up to the table.

"Careful, Claire," Rebekah said coldly. "It's all well and good until she stabs you in the back."

"Keep walking, Blondie," Claire said simply.

"What are you doing here?" Elena questioned. "I know your mother's rules…no hurting the locals."

Rebekah snorted, "Get over yourself, Elena. It's not always about you." With that said, she walked over to where Donovan was cleaning off a table.

She pulls out the familiar invitation to her family's ball and hands it to him.

"She's inviting him to the ball?" Claire questioned in surprise. "He's human."

"She's obviously trying to get a rise out me," Elena relented. She looked back pleadingly at Claire. "Please, Claire."

Claire sighed, "Fine, what time is this damn thing anyway."

Later that night, she is rummaging through her large closet looking for a suitable dress for the evening, but found herself empty handed. She was already late meeting up with Elena at Klaus' mansion and now she had nothing to wear!

_Except_, she thought as she turned to glance at the box containing the dress from Klaus. "No," she stated firmly. "I will _not_ give him the satisfaction!" She whimpered. "But it's so pretty!" She paced back and forth in front of her closet. "I will kill Elena for begging me to go this thing!" She had two options: find a dress that wouldn't exactly _wow_ anyone, but at least she wouldn't be giving Klaus any ammo to use tonight or she could bite the bullet and just wear the dress that suited her to a tee.

Finally it seemed that the latter would win. With sigh, she ripped off the lid and pulled out the dress. "Maybe this is some kind of fluke. So, he happened to have found a dress that I would have picked out myself. Who cares?" She quickly undressed and stepped into the dress all while grumbling, "I bet the damn thing will be too small and I won't be able to…"

To her dismay once she had slipped it on and zipped it up, she felt like the dress was truly made for her—almost like a second skin. She turned around to glance at her reflection in the mirror hanging from her closet. It looked amazing on her. She couldn't deny the guy had taste… "Jackass," she cursed. After slipping on some heels, she headed over to her vanity to look for some suitable jewelry. She found some earrings that she had acquired from Paris many decades ago as well as some gloves. She glanced down at her wrists and thought they looked too bare, but what would work?

She pulled out a drawer and paused when she saw the rectangle shaped box that held the infinity linked bracelet from Klaus. Reaching in, she pulled it out and opened the box to stare at it. She swore she would _never_ wear the thing simply as form of protest, but the damn bracelet was enticing her with its beauty.

Releasing a very loud breath of hair, she swiped it from the satin cushion and clasped it around her right wrist.

Klaus really tried to listen to Amy-something as she went on and on about how lovely she thought his home was, but he found it _very_ difficult to do so. She was rather annoying and very full of herself so unlike the one person he was actually interested in seeing tonight. His eyes had drifted toward the entryway where more guests had been arriving including the doppelgänger and the Salvatore's minus a very important one.

When saw the Salvatore brothers arrive without Claire, he felt a bit crestfallen. Perhaps she wasn't going to accept his invitation tonight.

He frowned at the thought. She was denying him again and he didn't like it.

As his eyes moved away from the woman who continued to drone on and on, they stopped on the figure that just arrived and he felt himself go into a trance as he saw her.

Claire Salvatore nearly took the very last breath from his body as she stopped just at the entryway of ballroom and every male in attendance were looking her way and who wouldn't?

She looked absolutely ravishing in the gown he had chosen just like he knew she would. There's was probably nothing in this world that she wouldn't look good in.

Without paying the other woman any mind, he approached Claire who had finally met his gaze and was making her way towards him. When they stopped in front of each other, he greeted, "Good evening."

She eyed him and then muttered, "I need a drink." She walked past him and headed toward the refreshments and he could only smile.

Perhaps this night would be much better than he thought.

"Welcome," Elijah began as he and the rest of the Originals including Esther all stood on the grand staircase. "Thank you for joining us. You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a century-old waltz, so if all of you could find yourselves a partner, please join us in the ballroom."

As the crowd started heading toward the ballroom, Claire tried to avoid having to go there herself, so she started heading in the opposite direction, but was stopped by a hand on her arm.

She spun around and found herself face to face with another Original. "Well, hello there," the young man greeted. "We haven't formally been introduced, I'm Kol Mikaelson." He reached for her hand and kissed her gloved knuckles. "And what's your name, darling?"

"Claire," she answered jerking her hand from his hold.

"Care to join me for a dance," he questioned with a wide, cocky smile.

"Actually, I'm sort of not in the mood," she declined tightly.

"Oh, come on. I'll make it worth your while," he said rather sure of himself.

"The answer is no," she stated firmly. She made an attempt to move past him, but his body blocked him. She tried again, but again to no avail. "Move!"

"Not until you agree to the dance," he told her still grinning and very determined.

Just when she thought she'd was going to force the issue, a voice spoke up, "She's spoken for, brother."

She glanced to the right of them to glare at Klaus who was grinning charmingly at her almost as if he was immune to her glares. "Actually…" she began.

Klaus cut her off and addressed his brother again, "Do you mind?"

With a look of disappointment, Kol shook his head and gave her another quick appraising glance, "It would figure my brother would have already set his eyes on you first." With that said, he headed off to find another dance partner.

"I'm spoken for," Claire questioned crossing her arms. "Are you the king of delusions or what?"

He chuckled, "Darling, you will be thanking me later for that. My younger brother doesn't play well with others…" When she raised an incredulous brow, he added, "Trust me he makes me seem a tad bit tolerable." He offered a hand to her. "Shall we?" When she seemed to resist, he added, "I won't take no for an answer."

With a huff, she snapped, "_Fine_." However, she did not take his hand instead she walked past him toward the ballroom.

She stopped where the couples were forming parallel lines across from each other. When Klaus joined her on her right side, she heard him chuckle.

"I absolutely love it when you're difficult. It means that you're slowly letting yourself be charmed by me."

She scowled at him, "I hate to break it to you, but I find you anything _but _charming. The word I would use is _grotesque._"

"Please don't refrain from telling me how you really feel," he said sarcastically yet still held a smile on his face.

"Oh, believe me. I'm just getting started."

The band began playing music and before she could think to change her mind, he quickly grasp her right hand with own and did the same with the opposite hands in return making their arms form a figure eight.

After doing some traditional opening movements in the two separate lines, Klaus twirled her around to face him and her left hand fell upon his shoulder while her right one was grasped by his hand. Her jaw clenched when his other hand rested on her waist.

They twirled around the dance floor a bit before he spoke, "I'm glad you came."

"Well, it was either this or watching the _Jersey Shore_. I figure this would be less depressing."

"So I managed to surpass a group or drunken idiots, I'm honored."

She rolled her eyes, "It wasn't a compliment, so please don't think anything of it."

"Fine," he said grinning. "To other mannered subjects then like how ravishing you look in that dress."

With a sigh, she said, "Well, I wasn't given much time to shop and this was pretty much my only option."

His eyes moved to her right wrist and he gave her a cocky stare, "And what about that bracelet I gave you? What is your excuse for wearing that?"

Her eyes met his stare and she found that she couldn't come up with a retort to that. She was actually unable to form the words. It was something in his stare and it really unnerved her.

"You're quite the dancer," he commented, causing her to blink.

"Well," she began and swallowed. "I've had training." With a humorous look, she continued, "I happened to be the very _first_ Miss Mystic Falls."

He gave her an adoring look, "I know."

She snorted, "Of course. You know everything."

"Only the things of high importance," he admitted before having to twirl her again and releasing her to a new dance partner.

When she stopped in the arms of another partner, she sighed with relief when she realized that it was Elijah.

"Are you enjoying the evening," he questioned with a warm smile.

"Somewhat," she replied flashing a quick annoyed glance at Klaus who was now dancing with the mayor.

"I see you accepted my brother's invitation which to be honest surprised me," he told her simply.

"Please don't get me started," she moaned.

"I've never seen him this way with a woman with the exception of Tatia," he informed her. "While I hope his intentions are genuine, please do be careful."

"Rest assured I don't plan on letting my guard down one bit for that one," she told him confidently even though she was only partially confident in herself.

As much as she wanted to deny it, the damn hybrid was breaking off a bit of her strong exterior, but she still wouldn't give him the satisfaction in knowing that.

"So," she began with a small smile. "You have your family back. Is it everything that you wanted?"

"In some ways," he answered somewhat unsurely and Claire chose not to question him on it.

When partners were once again exchanged, she found herself in the arms of yet another Mikaelson.

Kol grinned devilishly. "Well, hello there."

"Fabulous," she deadpanned just as the music slowly drifted to stop luckily for her. She jerked from his hold.

"Don't be like that, darling. I've been locked up in that box for way too long and really could go for a release if you get my meaning." His eyes darkened with desire. "You couldn't certainly help me out with that."

"Okay that's enough," a voice growled from behind him and Klaus pulled his brother away. He looked apologetically at Claire. "I do apologize for my brother's brash behavior. He obviously doesn't know how speak appropriately to a woman of your caliber."

"My brother the _saint_," Kol mocked before Klaus dragged him away.

Needing to just get away from the party, Claire found herself outside in the courtyard out back where her eyes caught sight of a caramel colored horse with a white mane standing attached to lavished carriage.

She smiled as she approached the large creature, "Hi there, big guy." She stopped at the horse's head and reached up stroke the beast between its eyes. When the horse lifted its head up, she chuckled, "Do you like that?"

Because she was preoccupied with the horse, she failed to notice someone approaching from the mansion.

"Do you like horses," Klaus questioned as his figure approached. He stopped to stand to the right side of the horse.

Releasing a long breath, she shook her head. "I'm not speaking to you until you tell me _why_ you invited me here."

"I fancy you," he stated without missing a beat.

"What," she choked out then let out a chuckle. "Yeah…sure, _okay_."

He actually had the nerve to look offended. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes!"

"Why? You're beautiful, you're strong, you're full of light. I enjoy you."

Claire blinked at him. She had sudden déjà vu feeling when he said those words. It was almost like she had heard them before, but she knew very well that she hadn't.

She shook her head, "Well, _stop_."

"Stop what, love?"

"Fancying me," she shot back, irritably.

"It's not exactly that easy," he countered with a small grin. "What's so bad about it, Claire? Are you afraid of your own feelings toward me?"

"Don't think for a second that I'm going to fall for this _game_ of yours," she growled.

"I assure you that I am playing no games, Claire, but if you wish to continue to pretend that you don't feel something very well." His attention went to the horse. "You know horses are the opposite of people. They're _loyal_." With a soft chuckle, he continued. "My father hunted me for a thousand years and the closest he got is when he cut off the head of my favorite horse." He turned his gaze to her. "You see he severed its neck with his sword as a warning."

"So, you have daddy issues so what?" Her eyes bored into his as she continued, "So do a lot of us, but you don't see us hurting innocent people just to have more power."

"Sometimes having more power is better than not having any at all," he countered quickly.

She snorted, "Well, _I _refuse to think like that." She stroked the horse's forehead once more before stepping away and walking past Klaus.

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked toward the house and she refused to look back.

Many minutes later, she is standing in the foyer looking up at the staircase as Esther is gathering the attention of the crowd by tapping her wine glass.

"Good Evening, Ladies and Gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join me in raising a glass.

A waiter passes by and she reaches for glass filled with rose colored wine, but another hand beats her to it. Klaus had apparently snuck up beside her to grab not one but two glasses from the tray. He turned with a small smile to hand hers over and she found herself smiling slightly in return.

Above, Esther continued with her toast, "It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers!"

Klaus held up his glass and with a small sigh she clinks her glass against his and took a sip. Her eyes found it hard not to stare into his and it really freaked her out so much so that she was trying to force herself to look away and get as far away from him as possible.

It was insane to her…all of it was. Despite what she does or says, he still refuses to stop pursuing her. She didn't understand the fascination, but it was scaring the living crap out of her.

Lucky for her she finally got her chance to get away from him when Mayor Lockwood appeared and started talking to him about the renovation of Wickery Bridge finally getting underway thanks mostly to his donation.

When he was distracted, she snuck away heading to a quieter place to think. She moved through the crowd and found herself walking through a hallway away from the talking people.

She entered another room and found herself letting out a gasp. On the walls were beautiful pieces of artwork, but they only held her attention so long. In fact, the moment her eyes landed on the object just across the room where she stood, there was no way to regain her attention.

She approached the beautifully crafted piano in awe. Her piano had travelled through the many generations of Salvatore's and she had restored it back to its original form so it meant a lot to her. However, this piano was breathtaking.

Looking over her shoulder, she wondered if anyone would mind if she played a few notes on it. She slid onto the bench and let her fingers slide across the marble keys.

After finally ridding himself of the mayor, Klaus glanced around looking for Claire and wondered where she had run off to.

He thought back to the small smile that she had given him just moments ago. He felt his heart beat a bit faster as it flashed in his mind again. It gave him some hope that he was starting to break down her walls a bit.

Now where was she?

His eyes looked for her once more before moving toward his study wondering if maybe she wanted to get away from the crowd again. As he neared the room, he heard music being played on the piano and he found himself smiling.

Quietly, he slipped into the room and indeed found the woman that he was looking for sitting at the piano located near the window playing a tune that he was not familiar with. He leaned against the doorway and just watched her.

Many nights he dreamed that she would be the one to play that very piano. He had bought it decades ago shortly after leaving her in Chicago. He bought it on a whim, a hope that they would be reunited again and she would play for him again.

And here she was. Granted, the circumstances were slightly different, but seeing her there playing was everything he knew it would be. It was perfect.

Slowly her eyes lifted and she noticed him by the door and the music stopped abruptly upon seeing him.

"Please," he choked out with a smile. "Don't stop on my account. You play wonderfully." He approached where she sat. "What's the tune? I do not recognize it."

"I wrote it," she whispered as she started to slide from the bench. "I apologize for coming in here and touching your things."

He smiled. "It's quite alright. The piano needs to be played by someone who knows what they are doing. Your song…does it have a name?"

Her eyes stared at him in question before answering, "No, it's currently untitled. I haven't quite finished it yet."

"When you do, I'd love to hear it in its entirety." He motioned to the piano, "This is your passion?"

She eyed him, "I suppose, why?"

"If you'd allow it, I'd like to show you one of mine," He requested motioning toward the adjoining room.

He led the way into the room where several chandeliers hung as well as other paintings. He watched as her eyes widened when she saw the painting hanging just above his work table which was filled with sketches, paintbrushes, and other tools.

"That's a Monet," she whispered in admiration.

"I see you know your artwork," he said impressed and delighted.

"He's one of my favorites," she admitted before commenting. "It looks like it's an original." Her gaze found his. "I take it the curators at the Louvre are not on vervain?"

He chuckled at her displeasure, "Yeah, well that's their mistake."

With a shake of her head, she then motioned at her bracelet, "What about these? Where'd you steal this from?"

"Well that's a long story, but rest assured it was worn by a princess almost as beautiful as you."

This causes her to roll her eyes expressively which led him to believe that she still believed him to be dishonest. He looked away embarrassed for he did mean what he spoke, but she was making it rather hard to show his true self.

"Wait a second," she said lowly as her eyes looked at his work bench where he had various sketches strewn about it. She glanced at him in question, "Did you do these?"

He found himself feeling quite insecure about his artwork. "Yeah, um... actually one of my landscapes is hanging at the Hermitage, not that anyone would notice. Have you been?"

"A few times," she answered. "I visited it back in the early 1900's. Saint Petersburg was one of my favorite places to visit."

"And your favorite," he inquired.

"Paris," she said as she looked back down at his drawings. "I used to love to travel. I miss it. It got lonely after a while, so I stopped."

"I could take you wherever you wanted to go," he offered which regained her attention. She raised a brow at him. "We could go anywhere perhaps Rome?"

"Been there," she pointed out.

"Tokyo?" he tried.

She chuckled, "Been there and the food is _amazing_."

"Sydney?"

"Been there," she answered with a smile.

"Antarctica?"

They both laughed. He noticed how much her face lit up when she laughed that way. "Now why would I want to go there?"

"I'd take you anywhere that would make you happy," he admitted which caused her face to change.

"Well, you don't need me to keep you company," she replied. "You have your trusty hybrids to keep you company. I mean that's why you have them, right? I mean they're like your little servant army that takes you places and bring you things."

She was speaking too boldly about matters that did not concern her. He felt himself beginning to become irritated, "You're making assumptions."

"Am I? I'm sorry am I talking out of turn? Are you going to sick one of your servants on me?"

He cleared his throat as he tried to keep his temper in check, "You know, this has been a fun evening, but I think it's time for you to leave."

"I get it," she whispered fiercely. "The truth hurts, huh? Do you want to know what I really think? Your father didn't love you, so you assume that no one else will either. And that's why you compel people or you," she stops momentarily to pull off the bracelet and throw it onto his worktable, "buy them off! But that's not how it works. You don't _connect _with people because you don't even try to understand them."

Without another glance, she spun around and stormed from the room leaving him staring after her completely caught off guard by her brutal frankness.

No one _ever_ spoke to him the way that she did other than perhaps members of his family and even then he never let them get away with it. He found himself taking in every word that she spoke. He found them to be very accurate and that scared him.

After leaving Klaus to stew in his study, Claire rejoined the party and headed straight toward where the coats and purses had been placed, quickly finding her shawl and clutch.

She headed out the front door, pulling her cell phone out and begun texting her brothers and Elena letting them know that she was heading home. As she stepped off the front steps and onto the paved driveway, she was in the middle of typing up her message when something or rather _someone_ had come flying from above and landed on the ground beside her.

She stared wide eyed at the body of Kol, but jumped back when Damon landed atop him. "Damon? What the hell!?"

Damon paid her no mind as quickly punch Kol in the face and then reached down to break his neck.

Claire's mouth dropped open as she exclaimed wildly, "_Are you out of your godforsaken mind?_"

She turned around to see the entire Original family minus Esther walk about and she immediately held up her hands in defense. "I had nothing to do with this!"

Damon climbed to his feet and muttered incredulously, "Appreciate the support, sis."

She glared at him and whispered fiercely. "_I obviously don't have a death wish!_"

Stefan jogged out of the house and takes in the scene, "Damon, are you crazy?"

"Maybe a little," Damon admits with a shrug as Elena ran out. He glared in her direction. "Far be it for me to cause a problem." He turned and walked away.

Claire flashed Stefan a look before braving a glance in Klaus' direction. He stared at her for a brief moment before turning and walking back into the house.

She sighed and turned to catch up with Damon.

Later that night, Claire walked into her room decked out in some pajamas and returning from reading in the library by the fire. As she tossed her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ on her night stand, she noticed yet another familiar velvet jewelry box resting atop her bed.

With a sigh, she picked it up, "Give up already." She flipped open the lid half-expecting another rare piece of jewelry, but she found nothing of the sorts for instead a roll of parchment was what occupied the box.

She plucked it up and tossed the box back onto her bed. Unrolling the paper, she was not prepared for what she saw.

She found herself staring a gorgeous sketch. She was the object as well as the horse from earlier in the evening. Klaus' depiction of her was astonishing and she would dare add flattering. Her eyes trailed every inch of the sketch, but stopped at the writing at the bottom.

_Thank you for honesty. –Klaus_

Her breath hitched as she read over the words a few times. She found them to be filled with genuine appreciation and that surprised her and scared her at the same time.

Dropping down to sit on her bed, Claire continued to stare at the drawing in wonderment.

Was she finally seeing a different side of the enemy?


	12. Author's Note

**Sorry this isn't an update! **

**An update is in the works I PROMISE! I'm just struggling a bit with this chapter and I don't have a lot of time to spend on it. **

**I also want to take the time to thank those that reviewed the last chapter even it was only like five or six of you. It means a lot. There is only I think four more updates to this story so I hope that more will start reviewing. **


	13. The Distraction

**Okay, so I managed to finish this today. Man, it seemed like I got more of a response on my Author's Note than on an actual update! Anyway, yes, there may only be 4 more parts, but that doesn't meant that's THE END of the Claire/Klaus. This story follows Season 3 of TVD, so as you can tell from the updates it's getting to the end, but there will be a sequel. I just want to see where Season 4 is going before I really dive into it. Of course, I finish this one first.**

**A reviewer mentioned being interested in some back stories with the Salvatore siblings before becoming vampires and when Stefan and Claire killed their dad, so I'm thinking about those ideas so I might do some side stories about those things. We'll see. **

**Okay, I hope that all of you like this update. There is no telling when the next one will be out.**

**The Distraction**

The day following the ball was a rather eventful one. It all started when Claire walked from her room to find Damon exiting his with…

"You have got to be kidding me," she choked out upon seeing Rebekah's smirking face, looking rather disheveled almost as if…Claire's eyes shot to Damon. "Please tell me that I am imagining this."

"Fine, you're imagining it," Damon told her simply before ushering his guest toward the front door.

She found herself hurrying after them only to find them both standing at the front door with Elena.

Elena flashed a look at her and Claire held up her hands, "It's Damon. I have learned to never be surprised."

"Hey," Damon said with some offense. He looked to Rebekah. "You can leave now."

With a last victorious smirked at Elena, the blonde walked out and Elena glared at Damon.

With a sigh, Claire muttered, "I'm really not in the mood for what is to come so fill me in later okay?" As she headed for the door, she could already hear Elena getting started.

As she headed for the woods to off on one of her usual walks, she was glad she was leaving the house. The last thing she wanted was to hear another round between those two. It was beginning to get tiring.

For once, she just wanted a day that didn't involve the love triangle between Elena Gilbert and her brothers, or another day filled with planning on killing a certain _someone_ that she couldn't stop thinking about.

She hopped over a fallen log. Honestly, the man was starting to take over many of her thoughts and it was really starting to scare her.

With a snarl, she kicked at some rocks with great force sending them flying very far into the distance. She had let _it_ happen. She had allowed the bastard to get to her and now she was thinking about him and that should be the very last thing that she should be doing.

An hour later, she wasn't too far from heading back to the house before her cell phone buzzed in her back pocket. Pulling it out, she found that it was Damon and sighing once more she pressed it to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"Get back to the house," he ordered. "We have a new development that you should know about it."

"On my way," she replied and ended the call.

When she had arrived back at the boarding house, Damon and Stefan filled her in.

So, Esther had ulterior motives that didn't deal with reuniting with her family. In fact, she wanted to rid her children from the planet and Elena had had a hand in helping the Original witch.

"So, we have a way to kill the entire Original family," she concluded. "And there is no way to keep Elijah out of it?"

Damon scoffed. "You sound like Elena. He's an Original and would have no problem turning on us whenever it best suits him."

"You don't know that," she argued.

"He's linked to the rest of them so he will die along with the rest of his family, Claire." Stefan told her then added rationally. "It's our only way to get rid of Klaus."

With a frown, she crossed her arms, "It's not like I have to like it."

Hours later, the whole plan of letting Esther continue with her plans of killing off her family hit a bit of a standstill when Elijah suddenly appeared at the boarding house claiming that he had abducted Elena.

Claire couldn't help but feel extremely guilty when Elijah had admitted to knowing about his mother's plot against his siblings. He appeared more hurt than she thought he'd be.

When Stefan entered claiming that he couldn't find Elena anywhere, he stopped upon seeing Elijah sitting by the fire.

"He has Elena," Damon supplied with a clenched jaw.

"Actually, she's with Rebekah," Elijah corrected. "As you can imagine, my sister is dying to tear her throat out. So, you want to save her life, I need you to help me stop my mother."

"How are we supposed to do that," Claire questioned with wide-eyes. "We know nothing of her plans!"

"And not to mention that when it comes to killing thousand year old witches, I'm a little rusty." Damon added.

Elijah scoffed, "Yes, unfortunately, even when killed my mother doesn't seem to want to _stay_ dead. Not with the spirits of nature at her side."

Stefan crossed his arms, "So, what are we supposed to do?"

Tilting his head slightly, Elijah answered, "The witches that released my mother, she's drawing her power from their bloodline. That line needs to be broken."

"Broken?" Claire questioned puzzled.

Damon cleared his throat gaining her attention, "Yeah, he means…" He makes a cutting motion with his forefinger over his neck and her eyes widened.

"You want us to kill them." Stefan concluded sharing a look with Claire.

With an innocent shrug, Elijah nodded, "You know I'd do it myself, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. Besides, seeing me, they'd immediately know my intent. They won't expect to be harm by the likes of you. In any case, you have until six minutes after nine to find them."

As Elijah stood, Damon sarcastically remarked, "Oh, how super specific of you."

"By 9:07, the moon will be full, and my mother will have the power she needs to kill me and my family. If you do not stop her before then, Rebekah will kill Elena. So we all have our timeline? I suggest you get started." He walked past them and soon they heard the door closing.

"Well this changes things," Claire replied as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"This is just _fantastic_," Damon bit out. "For once all we had to do was just stay out of it and all of the Original family would be dead."

"So, what do we do?" Stefan asked them.

Damon walked over to fix him a drink then turned around to face them. "I might have an idea."

"Does involve killing Bonnie and her mother," Claire asked with a glare. "If it does I want _nothing _to do with that plan."

"Face facts, sister," Damon said with a stern look. "If it comes down to it and it's the only solution you bet your ass it's going to happen. But, _no_ that has nothing to do with my idea. Actually, mine happens be less diabolical."

Claire crosses her arms, "And what exactly does this diabolical plan entail?"

After taking a sip from his glass, he answered, "Well, for starters we'll need the silver dagger."

"You want to dagger Elijah," Stefan concluded.

"They're all linked. One goes down and they all go down. End result, the witches live, Elena's safe, problem solved."

"We don't even know if that dagger will even affect Klaus," Stefan pointed out.

"Ironically, Klaus isn't our current problem." Damon put in.

"The dagger is lethal to any vampire that uses it."

"Well, I happen to know a guy crazy enough to give it a shot," Damon told Stefan. He then turns to Claire. "Now onto the second part of the plan and by far the most important…"

Claire did not like how he was looking at her.

"I got a text earlier from Ric and apparently a certain Hybrid Original and his little bro are at the Grill, so we'll need a _distraction_."

"You can't be serious," Claire commented in disbelief.

"Oh I'm very serious," he countered grinning. "Now why don't you go and change into something more a bit _sexier_."

"You seriously just didn't say that to our little sister," Stefan said incredulously.

Damon rolled his eyes and gulped down his drink. He nodded his head at Claire, "Go on get changed."

With a loud sighed, Claire turned and headed toward the stairs.

Klaus brought his glass of bourbon to his lips as he rolled his eyes at his brother who was currently ogling the brunette who had been accompanying Alaric Saltzman.

"Hmm, I remember her from last night," Kol commented which caused Klaus to look at him puzzled.

That's when he realized that his younger brother was no longer staring at Dr. Fell, but toward the entrance of the Grill.

His eyes immediately locked on Claire as she moved effortlessly through the crowd dressed much differently than he was used to seeing. Claire Salvatore didn't need to dress in barely there outfits to get men's attention especially not his. Her natural beauty was enough to do that. However, he found himself unable to move as he took in her attire which was, dare he say, _sexy_ and it absolutely suited her and it made his mouth water.

"She looks like a tasty little thing," Kol remarked. "I really wished you let me have a go with that one."

Never taking his eyes away from her, Klaus leaned over to his brother and warned, "Say another word and I'll tear out your liver." He straightened when Claire was now before them. "Claire!" She stopped to eye them apprehensively. "Care to join us for a drink?"

Kol held up his glass in a form of invitation.

With her hands now placed on her hips, she smirked, "I'd rather die of thirst, but _thanks_." She spun around and sauntered back toward the exit, never looking back.

Klaus found himself smiling dreamily after her as he gushed, "Isn't she stunning?"

"Well, she certainly looks good walking away from you." Kol joked.

Finishing off his drink, Klaus turned to his brother and grinned, "I'll take that as a challenge." He turned and followed after the woman that he desired.

As she crossed the street, Claire wondered if she was believable enough to really entice him out of the bar and away from Kol.

"Claire," she heard him call out and she smiled in small victory. It was good to know that she still had the ability of being irresistible even if it was just a ploy.

She turned slightly when she heard a screeching of some tires and saw him narrowly missing being hit by a passing car. She found herself kind of hoping that he had gotten hit by the thing. Granted, it wouldn't kill him, but hey it would have been fun to watch.

"Come on, Claire!"

"Seriously," she bit out. "Take a hint."

He gave her a charming smile, "Ah, don't be angry, love. So, we had a little spat. I'm over already."

Rolling her eyes, she turned and began walking again. "Well, I'm not."

"How can I acquit myself?" he asked regaining her attention. "I'll do it whatever you'd like."

"Well, for starters you and your expensive jewelry and your romantic drawings can leave me alone."

She managed to see some flicker leave his gaze, but yet he still smiled. "Oh come on, Claire, take a chance." He quickly sits on a nearby bench and gazed up at her. "Talk to me. Get to _know_ me." With a lick of his lips, he challengingly added, "I _dare_ you."

She eyed him for a moment. With a relenting sigh, she sat down beside him, "Fine." There was a brief silence before she spoke, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk about you," he told her simply which caused her snort. "I'm serious. I want to hear about your hopes, your dreams…" His eyes bored into her as he finished, "everything that you want in life."

She found herself staring at him. "Why would you possibly care about those?"

"You are constantly questioning my intentions," he pointed out. He tilted his head slightly, "Why is that?"

"Because I am too smart to be seduced by you," she stated still trying to keep up with the hard to get act.

His eyes never left hers as he grinned even wider, "Well, _that's_ why I like you." He leaned back. "Now, what is it that you desire in life?"

"Other than _you_ high-tailing it out of town," she questioned lightly. "Not much."

"That can't be true," he commented gently. "Certainly you still have hopes in life?"

"Fine," she bit out. "I do have a hope in life—it's called _peace_. I'd rather live the rest of my existence not fighting some _war_ against you. I would rather be free from this hell that you are putting us through."

After she said the words, she inwardly winced. She was supposed to be flirty, not brutally honest. Great, now she has blown the plan and he'll certainly be suspecting something.

She cautiously braced herself for his response, but found that he was studying her rather closely.

"You do like to speak your mind, don't you," he questioned with a pondering look.

She shrugged a shoulder, "If I see fit to. Why?"

"I rather like that about you," he whispered admiringly.

She stared at him incredulously, "Did you _fail_ to listen to my words?"

He chuckled throatily, "Oh I heard you, love. Very clearly in fact and I don't blame you. You are a strong-willed woman, Claire. I would never doubt that you believe that I am a bad person. But a quality that I found that you possess is the ability to see the good in people. What I hope is that you are able to see the good in me."

"Why," she questioned softly.

With a solemn face, he continued staring at her. "I wasn't always this way. You would have rather liked me back when I was human."

She chuckled lightly. "Weren't you in love with the original Petrova back then?"

With a soft chuckle, he nodded, "Ah yes…Tatia. She was…" His voice trailed off as his face changed suddenly. Standing, he pressed a hand to his chest.

She followed suit and stood as well. "What's the matter," she asked, but had a feeling that she already knew. Apparently, her brothers had succeeded in daggering Kol and now Klaus had felt it even though it did not harm him in any remote way.

His head lifted and his eyes searched hers in accusation. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," she quickly said and he suddenly flashed forward gripping her by her upper arms, shaking her.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" he roared.

Startled, she uttered, "I didn't do anything. Stop it!"

He released her and looked back towards the bar, realizing finally. "Kol," he whispered.

When his head turned back her way, she was expecting anger from his gaze. She found herself astonished to see a look of sadness and dare she think _betrayal_ etched upon his face. He turned and rushed away.

She found herself frozen as that look clouded her mind and it did something incredibly disturbing to her—it made her feel _guilty_.

With a frown, she tried to shake away that feeling as she headed after the angry hybrid. When she arrived in the back alleyway behind the Grill, Elijah had already apparently broken up the fight between Klaus and Damon while Stefan watched from the stairway and Alaric was out cold.

Elijah spared her a brief look before heading down the stairs toward Damon with his phone in hand. "You tell me where the witches are or I will have my sister kill Elena right now."

"You told him that we have after nine," Damon pointed out.

"I'm sure my sister wouldn't mind starting her work early." Elijah declared.

Claire spoke up from where she still stood from up above, "They're at the abandoned house out near the falls. That's where they're harnessing all their powers."

"Thank you, Claire," Elijah said and looked to Damon then Stefan. "Don't you gentlemen have work to do?" He helped Kol to his feet when the younger Mikaelson finally regained his bearings after having the dagger removed just minutes before. The two of them headed up toward her with Klaus trailing them.

He avoided all eye contact as he brushed past her and followed his brothers away.

That stung a bit.

Her brothers joined her above and Damon spoke, "Well, I guess now we no longer have any more options."

"So that means…" Claire began, but Damon cut her off.

"Help Meredith get Alaric home," he told her motioning to Stefan. "We'll handle the witches."

"But…"

"Just do it, Claire," he ordered before heading off into the darkness. With a serious look from Stefan, he followed their older brother leaving Claire stare sadly after them.

It was nearly midnight when Claire walked up to the Mikaelson mansion after the events of the night had taken place. Her brothers succeeded in stopping Esther's plan of killing her children. Unfortunately, Bonnie's mother had to pay the prize and that prize happened to be drinking Damon's blood, dying, and now currently going through the transition to becoming a vampire.

Yet after all of that Claire could only think about her involvement in all of this.

When she stopped at the front door, she stared at it a moment before bringing a hand up to knock only to have the door pulled open. She jerked back, "Elijah."

He gave her a puzzled look, "Claire? What are you doing here?"

"This is going to sound crazy, but I'm here to see Klaus."

He shook his head, "He is not in the right state of mind to accept any visitors."

"I'll take my chances," she told him with a brief smile. When he still didn't move, she sighed. "Elijah, I'll be fine."

"I know you will," he stated simply. "I just wanted to give you my apologies for my involvement in tonight's events."

"I accept your apology for your involvement if you forgive me for mine," she requested. "Contrary to what you may believe, Elijah, but I really didn't want you to die." With a small smile, she added, "I've grown rather fond of you."

Elijah actually gave her a small smile despite the night's events. "Take care of yourself, Claire."

Nodding, she watched as he headed toward where a black SUV was parked. When all she could see was taillights, she turned and stared at the now open front door and slowly stepped inside.

"Hello," she called out hesitantly, but did not get a response.

Suddenly, she jerked from her spot and pushed hard into a nearby wall with great force. With a gasp, she was abruptly face to face with one pissed off Rebekah.

"Why the hell are you here? You must be really stupid for thinking that you could just walk in here without…"

As Claire struggled against her hold, a voice caused her to freeze, "Release her, sister."

"Honestly, Nik, you couldn't possibly be serious…"

"_Release_ her," he ordered from where he stood near the staircase.

With a snarl, Rebekah's hold loosens and she backs away then flashes up the stairs without another word.

Rubbing her sore neck, Claire glanced toward Klaus only to find that he had disappeared.

She immediately knew where he'd be, so she headed to right toward the hallway to his study. When she reached it, the door was open and he was standing in front of the fireplace.

When she stepped into the room, his voice emotionally remarked, "You're a very brave to show up here."

"Or suicidal," she whispered lightly. "I'll have see how this all ends before I determine that."

As she drew closer, she noticed that he was holding something, a sketchbook, in his hands and was ripping pages from it. Her eyes zeroed in on the sketches of her face drawn at different angles and watched as they were tossed into the burning flames.

"I'm sure those were beautiful," she commented.

He closed the book and walked past her to toss it onto his work table. "Well, they depicted the subject the way that I viewed her so yes I supposed you'd be correct." He swiped up a wine glass filled with dark red wine and brought it to his lips. Afterwards, he gave her a pointed look. "What are you doing here? You served your purpose tonight, so what is the need of this visit?"

"It's about the look that you gave me tonight when you realized that I was…"

"Toying with my feelings," he supplied with a glare. "I was being honest with you, Claire, and I really thought you were finally seeing _me_."

"I did see _you_!" she choked out. "I saw a side of you that I guess that you don't show many people, but it doesn't change anything."

"And why not," he snapped causing her to back away from him. "I could provide you with anything that you could possibly desire and you can't see anything, but the bad things that I've done!"

With tears pooling her eyes, she cried out, "Because the bad outweighs the good! So, you've treated me nicer than the others. So, you've given me beautiful things, and drew me an amazing drawing. That doesn't change anything, Klaus. I'm still part of the side that wants you gone and I'm not going to apologize for my involvement tonight because this reality."

She could tell that her words were really causing some intense emotions in him, but he was holding it all in. "Well," he bit out tightly. "I suppose there isn't much left to say is there." He turned his back to her and headed toward the fireplace. "You know where the door is."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, but he doesn't turn around. "Maybe if this had been a different time or I met you before you became this…_person_." She swallowed and continued. "Who knows, I might have really liked to have gotten to know that person." When he made no move to acknowledge her, she turned and walked out.


	14. The Plan of Attack

**I'm sorry if there are any errors in there. I tried to proofread it as much as I could. **

**Enjoy and Review please!**

**The Plan of Attack**

It had been a few days since that night with Klaus and Claire still couldn't stop thinking about it especially since Klaus had MIA for those days. It was different now that he had apparently backed off.

Just because he had been missing in action didn't mean that all was peaceful.

After departure of all the Originals excluding Rebekah, Damon's old friend Sage appeared out of nowhere and suddenly she began remembering the last time that she had been in the presence of the red-haired woman.

It had been 1912. Stefan and she had returned to Mystic Falls after 50 years away to attend the funeral of their nephew Zachariah who had been murdered.

Damon had also come back to town in usual fashion which involved the appearance of a black crow.

It marked the first time that the siblings had been in the presence of each other in the fifty years that they've been vampires.

Damon was still angry with Stefan and indifferent with Claire. It many ways he still blamed them for his becoming a vampire. Stefan had provided the open vein of the victim he offered for Damon to drink from and Claire had been the one who had pleaded for him to drink for she didn't want to lose her brother.

Yet Damon did join them for a drink which had been a promising sign. That night, the trio went into town and found themselves at a boxing match where they saw Sage for the first fighting against a man in the ring.

She was holding her own and immediately it very obvious that she wasn't just some human.

As she leaned against the railing of the bridge that overlooked the Falls, Claire shook her head at the memory of 1912. It wasn't such a happy memory to think back on. Stefan had succeeded in turning off his lust for his blood thanks to Lexi and herself, but Damon decided to entice him with human blood and he fell off the rails again.

He became the Ripper again and he ventured off out of guilt leaving Claire, his companion for five centuries, alone.

Stefan's departure did open up an opportunity for Claire and Damon to rebuild their relationship, so they left Mystic Falls together.

Now, Sage has returned and they would soon learn that she had been very much in love with Finn, the second eldest Mikaelson brother before he was daggered by Klaus nearly 900 years ago. When he was un-daggered, word had gotten around to Sage, and now here she was.

Her arrival was not the only huge event that occurred these past few days. After investigating the attacks on Council members, Damon, Stefan, and she discovered that the attacks followed the same patterns as the attacks that occurred in the early 20th century with Elena and Jeremy's ancestor Samantha Gilbert being the culprit.

Her killings had been the result of the ring that she wore that had been passed from Gilbert to Gilbert. There were now only two rings left. Jeremy had one of them and Alaric had the other which led to the sudden realization that Alaric had been the killer all along.

Not having much time to adjust to the fact that Alaric was unknowingly killing founders, the arrival of Sage arose some questions, but she was rather helpful when it came to uncovering Rebekah's reason for lurking around Claire's family for the past 24 hours.

So, after tricking their way into Rebekah's head, Damon and Sage were able to find out about the other White Oak Tree. Rebekah was trying to figure out its location and since the Salvatore family was millers, she figured that she would find all of that out.

Damon would later find out that the White Oak tree had been cut down and made into the Old Wickery Bridge.

So, now they had a weapon against the Originals, but again things would not be as easy as they would have originally thought.

It would turn out that Sage would give Rebekah the heads up after learning the truth herself as well as the fact that the Original family was linked, so her precious Finn would also die if one of the Originals were to be killed.

Rebekah made sure to take care of the bridge by burning it up. Little did she know that the bridge itself wasn't the only thing that had been built from the White Oak tree.

Last night, Damon strolled into the library with the Wickery Bridge sign and claimed that they still had a weapon to kill the Originals.

Now, back in present time, Claire glanced down at her watch and realized that she was running late for the big meeting that Damon and Stefan had set up in the woods not too far from here.

Glancing once more at the Falls, she turned and headed off.

When she finally arrived, her brothers, Elena, Matt, and Caroline were already there.

"You're late," Damon pointed out.

Claire rolled her eyes, "So? I'm already up to speed with the plan so I hardly think that I need to hear it again."

"Its fine," Stefan said and indicated the duffle of stakes. "You're just in time for us to go over some scenarios." He turned to face the group. "Okay, scenario number one. Rebekah is our target and therefore we need to distract Klaus." His eyes move back to Claire. "Claire?"

She sighed heavily. "Why do I always have to be Klaus bait?"

"Because he's obsessed with you," Damon told her pointedly as he walked over to Caroline.

"He's quite pissed at me at the moment, so I highly doubt that I'll be that convincing."

Damon made a face at her, "Sis, you're not giving yourself enough credit. You have the ability to do anything when you put your mind to it."

Claire stared at him in shock, "That sounded a lot like a compliment."

"Shut up. Besides, he's a guy…he'll take the bait, I promise you." He then addressed Caroline. "Okay, Blondie, you're Rebekah and Elena will be Klaus." He nodded over at Matt. "We'll use the quarterback to distract Barbie Klaus. Just keep her talking."

Matt scoffed, "And how do I do that?"

"Act interested. She lonely, desperate," Damon remarked.

"Obviously since she slept with you," Claire chimed in.

Both Elena and Caroline suppress a grin.

Damon ignores them and went on with the scenario, "Beefcake holds her and I come up behind her and grab her arms from behind…" He does the actions to Caroline which elicited an "Ow" from her.

Stefan continued and approached the two, "Gives me time for one shot." With the stake in hand, he imitates stabbing Caroline in the heart.

After going over the procedure of hiding each of their stakes and assuring that they weren't going to have pity on any of the Originals which was mostly directed at Elena, the group started going through other scenarios.

Claire, however, found herself leaning against a nearby tree lost in her own thoughts. With her own white oak stake in her hand, she didn't know if could actually stake one of them. Rebekah and Finn, maybe. Kol, _definitely_. Elijah would be difficult, but what about Klaus?

Would she really be able to look into his face and stick a stake into his chest? If this were to have been a week ago then the answer would most definitely be yes. Now, she wasn't quite certain that she could do it.

A voice interrupted her thoughts causing her to jump slightly, "What are you thinking about?"

She glanced over at Stefan. "Nothing of importance I assure you."

"Are you sure about that," he questioned. "You're not having second thoughts…about them dying or particularly _him _dying, are you?"

She stared at him, "What do you mean?"

"He doesn't care for you, Claire," he told her bluntly. "He's using you. It's what he does. Don't be stupid to think that he's really capable of loving anyone."

"Don't worry, brother," she said tightly. "I know the plans. I won't be easily swayed." With a look of dignity, she snapped, "And I'm _not_ stupid." She pushed off the tree and pushed past him heading away from group.

As she continued farther away from the group, she wondered if in fact she was so gullible to actually think that Klaus was being honest with her. She held on to a small ounce of hope that he was being trustworthy and honorable.

After all the preparation, there was small change of plans when Damon was suddenly taken by Rebekah. Stefan insisted that they continue on with the plan of staking one of the Originals much to the dismay of both Claire and Elena.

Matt had called from the Grill and had told them that Finn and Sage were there having drinks, so Stefan was determined to keep on with the agenda and stake Finn.

Claire knew that he wouldn't be able to do it all on his own at least not with Sage there too, so she and Elena reluctantly followed him toward the Grill just as the sun made its final descent.

While Stefan and Elena made their way into the Grill with Stefan heading in from the front and Elena in the back, Claire took her place above the alleyway awaiting the moment that Stefan lured the two vampires out.

Already knowing about Sage's past with the sport of boxing, she was not looking forward to the altercation. Claire considered herself tough, but she wasn't too confident next to a 900 year old vampire.

It only a matter of ten minutes before Stefan finally rushed around the corner, "Get ready." He pressed his side against the building and peered around the corner with the stake ready.

Suddenly, Finn and Sage appeared around the corner and Stefan made his move to strike, but is quickly blocked by Sage who knocks the stake from his hand.

With her own stake, Claire rushed forward at Finn, but is knocked aside roughly by Sage who yelled out to her lover, "Finn, the stake!"

Knocking Claire out of the way, he rushed down the steps where Stefan's stake had tumbled down and looked up when the back door of the Grill burst open revealing Elena with the crossbow.

She sent the arrow flying and it hit him in the stomach which gave Matt holding his own stake time to charge forward and shove his stake into the Original's chest.

"No," Sage screamed as Finn it the ground. She released Stefan and rushed to the fallen Original's side giving Claire enough time to help Stefan to his feet.

The two quickly leave when the saw firsthand Finn's body catch fire.

It wasn't long before Sage came looking for vengeance only something more shocking happened when she barged in after throwing Stefan back inside the boarding house just moments after he exited.

When she, Stefan, Claire, and another vampire Troy were amidst the fighting Sage had suddenly stopped and seemed to lose the strength that she had against the younger vampires.

It resulted in her falling to the ground and dying just like that with Troy as well.

Twenty minutes later and after realizing that their lives were tied to at least one of the Originals, Stefan and Claire were now heading to Mikaelson mansion with the duffel of stakes in hand. They were going give them to Klaus in exchange for their brother who they hoped was still breathing.

Not bothering with knocking, Stefan pushed open the door and Claire followed cautiously. They walked toward the room where the ball had taken place and that's where they saw him.

Damon's form was dangling from where his wrists were clamped between some animal traps.

His head lifted and he whispered, "This was much different in my head."

"Klaus," Stefan called out. We're here. Let's do this."

Klaus and Rebekah appeared moments later. "Oh good a hero," Klaus commented. "What do you want?"

Dropping the duffel to the ground, Stefan answered, "We're here to make a deal."

"Our brother for these," Claire said simply.

Damon groaned, "What are you both doing?"

Stefan ignored him, "Eight stakes made of white oak—the part of Wickery Bridge that you forgot to burn."

Klaus looked at Rebekah incredulously.

"Impossible," she stated in bafflement.

"Actually, it's not," Claire pointed out.

Stefan added, "Finn's dead."

Rebekah looked at them with anger in her eyes, "You killed my brother?"

Stefan looked to Klaus, "Damon in exchange of the last eight weapons that can kill you."

Klaus stared at him closely, "And how do I know that there aren't any more out there?"

"Because there aren't," Stefan said trying to be convincing. Claire knew very well that he had one hidden in his jacket just like her and they both just had to wait for the opportune moment to use them.

Klaus gave him an evil smile, "Let's be certain, shall we?" He walked over to Damon and commanded, "Leave."

Damon forcefully said, "No."

"Go on. Leave."

Rebekah gave her brother a slight pout, "Nik, he's my play thing not yours."

Suddenly, Klaus grabbed Damon by the throat and tried compelling him, "I said, go home."

In horror, Claire watched as Damon started to pull his wrists out from the snares, peeling the flesh off of them in the process.

When he screamed in pain, she bit her lip and possessed herself not to make a move just yet.

But it soon became too much for her to bear and she hurried forward and shouted, "Stop it!"

"Back off, Claire," Klaus told her calmly.

"Or _what_," she challenged.

His eyes met hers at that moment and the two stared each other down before he finally addressed the one in agony, "Alright, stop, stop, stop, before you hurt yourself. Well, seeing that he can finally be compelled. Now," he grabbed Damon by throat and compelled him again, "minus the stake that's in my brother, how many more are out there to kill me?"

"Twelve," Damon choked out much to the dismay of his other two siblings.

Klaus chuckled maniacally, "Twelve! Really?" He looked toward Stefan pointedly, "So, not eight then."

"You really shouldn't have lied," Rebekah pointed out lightly.

Stefan cleared his throat, "I'll get you the other four."

"Yeah, that'll be nice." Klaus spat. "Or since you lied, maybe I'll just compel your brother to chew out his own tongue."

Stefan growled, "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with you?!" Klaus threw back. "Do you really have no appreciation for me? I have given you someone to hate, to loathe, a target for all of your anger; so you don't have to turn it on yourself. I have given your life purpose, as your friend." He suddenly laughed. "I really think you should be thanking me."

Suddenly, Stefan rushed at Klaus with a white oak stake in hand and pushed him hard against a wall. Klaus grabbed his wrist before he could shove the stake into his chest while Rebekah quickly held Claire at bay when she made the move to assist.

"Step down, or all of you will die," Klaus warned.

Claire watched as Stefan reluctantly handed over the other stake. Klaus straightened and looked to Claire. "And what about you, love? Don't think I haven't forgotten about the time that you managed to get the best of me and shove a stake in my chest."

With a glare, she pulled the stake from her jacket and tossed it to the floor letting it slide to his feet. He plucked it up and glanced back at Stefan. "There. Now you only have to get me the other two."

As the two of them stared each other down, Rebekah snorted, "This is ridiculous." She released her hold on Claire and walked over to Damon and releases him from the traps and Claire quickly rushed over to hold him up.

Klaus approached his sister, "What are you doing?"

Rebekah gave him a bored look, "I brought him here. I get to release him. My rules now." She addressed the Salvatore's. "Bring us the stakes and all of you live. Take your brother as a sign of good faith."

Walking over, Rebekah picked up the duffel bag with the stakes and walked from the room.

Klaus turned to look Stefan, "Bring us the stakes. _All of them._ Or I will wage a war against everyone you love. I hope I'm being clear." He managed a brief stare in Claire's direction before leaving.

After the exchange that occurred at his home, Klaus found himself compelled to speak to Claire. So, usual method sneaking up to her room, he came to find that she was nowhere in sight.

His instincts told him that she wouldn't be at her family's property considering that she chose that place to die and didn't consider it a happy place. Searching his brain, he tried to figure out just where she would have gone.

Then it hit him and he realized that perhaps she was at the very place where his fascination for her had begun nearly a century and a half ago.

When he arrived at the Falls, he walked past the very spot where he had found her sitting, sketching away by the waterfront. The fallen tree trunk that she had been resting upon was long gone. He smiled fondly at the memory. She had seemed so different back in 1863. She was filled with so much aspiration to do something with her life, but was restricted by her father who felt her only purpose was to be forced into a marriage.

Then came the 1920's Claire who finally got the chance to live her life and explore the world—little did she know that she had changed his in so many ways.

The Claire Salvatore now was different. She was so loyal to her brothers that she wouldn't allow herself to completely succumb to her feelings for him. She may deny just how strongly she felt, but he knew that they were there.

As he neared the bridge that very much new to this place, he saw her form standing there leaning against the railing overlooking the churning water below.

When his foot touched the wooden bridge, her head turned and she sighed, "Seriously?"

"I'm sorry to intrude on your solitude," he said softly as he approached.

"Please go away," she whispered and turned her face away again.

He frowned, "I won't take up too much of your time, love, I promise."

She snorted, "What do you have to possibly say to me? Do you want me to apologize for the fact that I was willing to participate in ending your family's life tonight?" Her eyes met his again. "I think you know where I stand in that matter."

"Oh yes. I know very well where you stand on that issue. However, it didn't seem to me that you were planning on using that stake that you had stowed away in your sleeve especially since you handed it over so willingly."

"You had my brother shackled up like some animal—"

"Rebekah's doing, not mine, dear," he corrected.

"Whichever the case," she said with a slight growl. "I wasn't just going to let you continue to torture him."

"That's something that I happen to admire about you, Claire," he admitted lightly. "You'll do anything for your brothers—no matter the costs." When she simply just stared at him, he cleared his throat and leaned his side against the railing. "It's clear to me that perhaps we might never be able to become anything more than two people fighting for a different cause…"

She released a bitter chuckle, "Yeah, because someone happens to think of himself as target for everyone's anger—someone to _hate._" She shook her head after throwing his words from earlier in the evening back at him. "How can you like that about yourself? Before you became a vampire, did you really want to become this _person_? Did you want to be this _monster_?"

"Comes with the territory I suppose," he answered lightly. "No need to pity the monster."

She shook her head and softly replied, "I don't pity you. I just find the whole thing to be devastating. Mikael must have _really _been horrible to you and your mother…"

"Enough," he suddenly snapped not liking her trudging up the past.

"Of course," she said incredulously. "We don't want to show the weaker side of the big, bad monster. "He might just have a heart underneath all that anger and sadness."

It was mind-blowing to him just how much she truly knew him. Claire had this way of looking past the exterior and seeing the man that he once was and who he kept hidden away in fear of appearing weaker than he physically was.

"Just get on with it then," she spoke up. "What is that you must say to me that required you to seek me out?"

"Presently, you see me as this monster that you hate, but that wasn't always the case…"

She gave him a puzzled look, "What the hell are you talking about?"

He gave her a brief, small smile. "You've seen different sides of me and _known _different sides of me which existed prior to my return to Mystic Falls."

"I'm not following…are you trying to tell me that I met you before?"

He nodded, "Yes, we've crossed paths in two prior centuries in fact. Mostly recently being the 20's when you arrived in Chicago to see Stefan."

She stared at him closely before shaking her head. "Stefan told me about you two in the 20's and he never mentioned me meeting you as well."

"Only because I left that part of it out," Klaus pointed out to her. "I wanted to save that particular detail for you." He looked around. "Our first meeting happened to have occurred in this very place in 1863. He motioned toward the actual spot that they had met and continued, "I found you sitting by the water on a fallen tree looking breathtaking as usual."

"Why don't I remember these events that you _claim_ happened," she asked sharply.

"Because I took the memories from you, I compelled you to forget about me," he said then added, "for you protection—from Mikael…from _me_."

She looked intently at him a few moments before stating, "You're lying."

"I'll prove it to you. I'll give them all back to you, your memories, but you'd have to stop drinking vervain first."

"And risk you compelling me to do something that could hurt my brothers?!" she cried out. "I'm not that dense."

"I would never compel you to do anything against your free will," he objected strongly.

"And taking away my memories is not doing that very thing?" she retorted.

"I did it to _protect _you," he restated firmly.

"It should have been _my_ choice! You had no right!" she shouted back.

"I'm willingly offering to return them to you…"

She cut him off, "_Keep them_. I don't care how I saw you back then. It doesn't change how I see you now. I don't want to know." She walked past him and he reached to grab her hand, stopping her.

He was surprised that she allowed him just a brief moment of holding her hand before jerking it from his hold.

"Stay away from me," she bit out coldly and turned around to storm off.

He could only watch her sadly.


	15. Back to the Twenties

**Back to the Twenties**

The night of decade dance, Claire entered the gym dressed and marveled at the 1920's décor. With a small smile, her mind went back instantly to the time that she spent during that decade.

Glancing down, she took in her attire. The flapper dress that she wore was a pale pink color with beautiful beading. It wasn't flashy like some of the dresses worn tonight only because it was completely _her. _It was one of her favorites from her 1920's days and she was glad that she had helped convince Caroline to throw a twenties decade dance rather than the seventies one.

As she looked around the gym, her eyes stopped to where Caroline was standing with Tyler who had been MIA for over a week. Her focus didn't remain on them long for another person had joined them.

Her eyes narrowed when she saw Klaus dressed in an off white, treed wool suit, with a matching vest. Underneath the vest, he wore a white, pale blue striped shirt and matching tie. She had to admit…he didn't look half-bad.

Shaking her head, she focused on the fact that he was with Caroline and Tyler and she knew that it wasn't just a friendly chat considering Caroline appeared to be fuming.

With a sigh, she headed over and cleared her throat, "Is there a problem here?"

"Other than him acting like some kind of alpha male," Caroline questioned heatedly.

"I have no reason to act, love, I _am_ the alpha male," Klaus corrected and turned his gaze upon Claire. "And to answer your question, dear Claire, I was just asking Tyler where he had run off to."

"That's his business," Claire pointed out. "Leave them alone, Klaus."

With a shrug, he said, "Of course, if you'll do me the honor of a dance."

With gritted teeth, she questioned, "Why would I do such a thing as that?"

Looking thoughtful, he shrugged again, "I could _punish_ Tyler for his absence, but we could avoid all that if you would agree to just one dance with me."

"Fine," she bit out.

"Claire," Tyler began. "You don't have to, not on my account."

"Stay out of it, mate," Klaus ordered and held his hand out to Claire who stared at it. "Shall we, sweetheart?" His eyes searched hers as a slow, charming grin appears on his face. "Come on, one dance. I won't bite."

With a look of distain, she took it and allowed herself to be guided toward the dancing teenagers.

When they reached an available spot to dance, he twirled her around slowly before pulling her body close to his and placing his free hand on her back while he clasped her gloved one in the other.

"You went with the pink dress tonight," he commented with a chuckle. The warmth of his breath tickled her skin and she felt herself shiver slightly at the contact. "I remember it fondly. You wore it the night before I left you in the 20's…it's like I am reliving a dream."

She snorted, "So, we're back to that are we? With you trying to convince me that we had some kind of history together, and me not believing a single word of it."

He pulled back so that he could meet her eyes, "You are still in denial I gather. Well, we can remedy that if you'd like." With a coy look, he questioned, "Off the vervain yet?"

"I don't trust you enough to stop drinking it," she lied. In fact, she had decided that morning not to drink her dose of vervain, but she wasn't exactly going to tell him that. She already thought that she was crazy for actually thinking that he was being honest with her.

"Well, that's a shame," he commented then smiled again and then spun them a few times and chuckled. "Do you remember the 20's, Claire? I do remember you once saying that you preferred it over any other decade. Do you ever wonder why?"

"So, I liked this particular decade," she shrugged. "Please don't try and find some kind of hidden meaning behind it."

"But there is," he pointed out, his eyes never leaving hers.

"How is that," she questioned with an amused look. "Is it my subconscious telling me that something about this decade dance is bringing back memories of a time that I had with you? Do you actually believe that I would fall for that nonsense?"

He frowned at her, "You really should be nicer to me. I'm leaving town tomorrow." This caused a change in her eyes. "Upset about that, love? You know I'd ask you to join, but it appears that you aren't quite ready to accept my offer to take you everywhere that your heart desires. Perhaps one day, in a year, or maybe in a century you'll come knocking on my door so that I can show you what the world has to offer."

"I already know what the world has to offer," she argued. "I don't need you to show it to me."

"Fight it all you want, but I'm willing to wait for you, Claire. I've waited for nearly a century and a half now for our time to come. Now that it has, I could wait a hundred lifetimes for you to come to your senses."

Claire swallowed when he said this. He sounded so confident and that scared her. He locked his gaze upon hers and she felt herself getting lost in their blue depths. She saw his face drift closer and she was astonished when felt her own doing the same almost as if some magnetic force was causing her to.

Finally coming to her sense, she cleared her throat loudly and broke eye contact then forced out a snort at the absurdity of his advances.

This caused a low growl to come from him as he stopped their movements. "You mark my words," he bit out regaining her gaze. "Deny it all you want, but you will come find me again. Something about me brings a lot of questions in that beautiful head of yours and you want answers. Stop lying to yourself and _trust _me."

Without another word, he backed off with a hurt, defeated expression and walked away. She found herself watching him with a frown.

Damon appeared, "Interesting choice of a dance partner."

"I was helping out Caroline and Tyler," she defended.

"Sure," he said unconvinced. "Falling for the enemy are we?"

Claire glared up at him, "Don't be stupid. What are you doing here anyway?"

"We have a situation," he told her.

"Why am I not more surprised?" she questioned sarcastically. "What is it?"

"Come with me and I'll explain on the way," he said and grabbed her arm, leading her out of the gym.

When they entered the cafeteria, she found Bonnie and Jeremy there along with Jamie, Bonnie's date.

"Esther has Elena," Damon filled her in.

"Of course she does," Claire said with a shake of her head. "And? Why haven't you gone off and saved her life as usual?"

"Because we're _stuck _here," Damon answered tightly. "Esther has some kind boundary spell surrounding the school that we can't cross over."

"Swell," she commented with snort. "Anything else?"

"Well, apparently she has Alaric too and that's what's worrying us. Bonnie over there is setting up her candles and what-not to find out where they are." His voice trailed off when Klaus came barging in with Stefan.

"Let's get this going shall we?" Klaus demanded.

"Of course, we don't want your precious hybrid-making blood source to die," Claire threw at him coldly.

"Ah don't be like that, love, certainly you are concerned a little for Elena's safety as well as your beloved History teacher." Klaus countered back.

Rolling her eyes, she walked over and took a seat at a table just as Bonnie began chanting in Latin with several candles lit on a table.

After a few minutes, Jamie spoke up, "She does this all the time, right?"

Klaus scowled, "What's taking so long?! All boundary spells have a loophole."

Matt entered, "People are walking right out of the dance, past the barrier."

Jeremy suddenly looked hopeful, "Matt and I can leave, and we can stop Esther ourselves. We just gotta find out where she is."

Stefan shook his head, "Its suicide, Jeremy."

Flashing forward, Klaus grabbed Jamie by the throat and started to strangle him, "Suicide would be disappointing me! Now work your magic, witch or I'll start killing people you fancy."

Bonnie glared at him frantically, "Let him go!"

"Not until you get us out of here," he growled as Jamie struggled for breath.

Claire rushed forward, trying to pull him off. "Using force isn't going to help matters!"

"It's worked for me many times, dear Claire. I assure you that it will work in this case as well."

"Claire's right," Stefan said as he approached. "Don't be stupid, Klaus. Bonnie doesn't give a damn about us. The only reason she's helping us right now is to save Caroline and Tyler. You start killing the people she cares about, she'll tell us all to go to hell."

With a look of detest, he released the human and backed away nearly colliding into Claire who quickly side-stepped out of the way. "Very well," he stated firmly. "Get on with it then."

After nearly ten minutes of trying, Bonnie was still unable to find a way to undo the boundary spell, so that led to Plan B which required letting Jeremy and Matt go instead, but first they would need to know where they were.

Claire and Bonnie entered a classroom where Claire ripped down a map of Mystic Falls and placed it on the teacher's desk while Bonnie grabbed the desk lamp and turned it on. "Need anything else?"

"I'll need some blood," she answered just as Damon walked in with Klaus.

"Got it," Damon announced holding the test tube of blood. "Jeremy made a little Gilbert donation for your locator spell."

Bonnie eyed him. "Am I going to have to do this with all of you lurking over me?"

Damon sighed, "You're still mad at me for what happened to Abby. Let me apologize…I'm sorry Elijah _forced_ us to turn your mother into a vampire to save Elena's life.

"They didn't exactly have a choice, Bonnie." Claire added.

"There's always a choice," Bonnie threw back before glaring at Damon, "Whenever you make one someone else suffers!"

Klaus pushed away from where he was leaning against the wall and approached them, "Let's cut the dramatics and begin, shall we?" He stood near Claire and looked at Bonnie expectantly.

Snatching the blood from Damon, Bonnie poured the blood onto the map and started chanting. The blood formed a circular pool that doesn't move like Claire was used to seeing. Usually it moved to wherever the person was located, but this time it remained still.

"What's going on," Claire asked glancing at Bonnie.

"Esther is fighting me," she answered in shock.

Klaus glared at the map, "Esther couldn't possibly have this much power unless she's channeling something.

Bonnie looked at him, "A hotspot?"

Klaus seemed to ponder that, "Get the humans ready." He looked up, "I know where she is."

Minutes later, Jeremy and Matt head off to the Salvatore tomb leaving the vampires and hybrids at the school to sit around and wait.

Needing some fresh air, Claire walked outside the front doors of the school and released a breath.

"I suppose that you going to find some way to blame this all me," a voice said from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder at Klaus, "She is your mother and she does want you dead."

"You realize that if I die there is a chance that you and your family will die along with me."

Turning around, she tilted her head at him in question, "Are you trying to tell me that you started our bloodline?"

He grinned, "Would it make it easier for you to know that I didn't so you could be rid of me for good? Were you hoping that it was Elijah instead?" His grin disappeared. "He is after all your favorite Original is he not?"

She looked past him to see Stefan exiting the school, "Anything yet?"

He shook his head. "Bonnie's still working on getting us out of here. Everything okay out here," he asked.

"Yes, Stefan," Claire answered with a sigh.

"You know this is your fault." Klaus said directing the comment at Stefan. "You set us on this path when you released my mother. I wonder if revenge will prove worth the cost."

Stefan snorted, "Oh, I'm done with revenge. As far as Esther, we've stopped her before, we'll stop her again."

Klaus grinned at that, "We're strange bedfellows, you and I. You know, all of this, reminds me of our time together in the Twenties."

Stefan smiled at him in amusement, "You say that like I'm supposed to have happy memories about it."

Klaus shrugged innocently, "Well, there were moments—real friendship… brotherhood."

Damon appeared and approached them, "Well, he already has a brother. Not to be, you know territorial or anything."

Klaus shook his head and remarked, "Oh no, of course! The Salvatore brothers and their unshakeable bond…I wonder what'll happen when Elena finally makes her choice. Will we see you shake just a little bit?"

Claire glanced at her brothers knowing that Klaus was right. When Elena finally did make a decision between the two of them, she feared that their relationship wouldn't be as unshakeable as it was currently.

Bonnie walked out of the school, "It's done. Esther's not fighting me anymore. The boundary spell is broken."

Claire watched as Klaus tested the boundary with his hand and he quickly looked at her before rushing off into the darkness.

* * *

The events that happened after the boundary spell had been lifted were not delightful ones. Yes, Elena, yet again managed not to get herself killed, but Alaric didn't come out of it unscathed.

After Klaus took his mother's body from the scene, it would be told that Alaric was not going to go through the transition to becoming a vampire and those near and dear to him held sort of a vigil for him.

When everyone headed home, Damon stayed behind to keep his friend company while he succumbed to death.

While he was with Alaric, Stefan stayed with Elena to help her through it, so Claire found herself heading home alone.

* * *

The next day, she found herself entering the school with her phone pressed to her ear.

"_Hi, this is Caroline. Leave a message!"_

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Claire spoke, "Caroline, it's Claire. I'm here at the school because _somebody_ begged me to come help clean up and _somebody _is nowhere to be found. Stop making out with Tyler and get your ass here!"

When she ended the call, she shoved the phone into her back pocket and ran her fingers through her hair in annoyance.

As she headed toward the cafeteria a noise stopped her, she looked around curiously wondering if it had been another member of the dance committee. "Hello," she called out, but received no answer. _Okay_, she thought and kept on walking to the cafeteria.

She entered to find Rebekah to be the only one there. "Swell," she sighed.

"You're late. Clean up committee started at eight." the blonde told her as she dumped some trash into the big trashcan.

"I'm just volunteering…" She checked her watch. "And it's only 8:02. Where the hell is everybody?"

"Matt got called in last minute and the rest of them just didn't show," the Original answered.

"Are you kidding me? So, it's just us?"

"Looks like it. Seems a bit unfair that I have to clean up after a dance that I organized and didn't get to attend," she stated bitterly which caused Claire to feel a bit sorry for her.

"I'm sorry about your mother. I realize that she wanted you dead, but I'm sorry all the same."

Rebekah seemed a bit grateful for her words. "And I'm sorry about your friend. He seemed like a nice guy."

Thinking of Alaric, Claire nodded, "Thanks. He was."

Rebekah seemed to study her. "You know…I see it." When Claire gave her a confused look, she continued. "Why my brother fancies you. You have a good heart despite things that you may have done to my family."

"Thanks, I think." Claire said unsurely. "Can I ask you something that's been troubling me?" When Rebekah didn't decline her request, she bit her bottom lip and went on. "Your brother said something to me the other night about knowing him before he came to Mystic Falls." She stared at the blonde curiously. "Did I meet you two back in the 20's?"

Rebekah stared at her seemingly unsure of how to answer her. With a sigh, she nodded, "Yes. We met you back then. I was quite surprised that my brother would leave you behind or that he would dagger me, but…he was quite _taken_ by you and I really thought he'd want to remain in Chicago, but then Mikael came…"

"I don't believe this," Claire whispered shaking her head.

"My brother is a complicated individual," Rebekah explained almost if she had to. Claire glanced back at her. "I've been at his side for many centuries and he has _never _shown interest in anyone. You bring out the side of him that I used to see all the time back when we were just humans. I know it's hard to see the good in him, but you could if you give it some time."

Claire couldn't say anything after that.

"While you mull that over, I'm going to go and get started on the gym."

Claire could only nod and the blonde walked out. When she was alone, she released a staggering breath as Rebekah's words replayed in her mind.

So, it had been true. She _had_ met Klaus before. What did this mean? It couldn't possibly change things. He still only cared about making his hybrids and hurting anyone that stood in his way. What would make her any different? He'd never choose her over his hybrids.

A very loud bang from the hallway caused her head to jerk in that direction. Without even hesitating, she hurried into the hallway in time to see Alaric, who was very much alive, trying to stake Rebekah.

She rushed over and quickly pushed him off, pressing him back into the lockers while Rebekah took the opportunity to shove the stake into his chest.

Alaric let out a groan, but not the typical vampire dying kind of groan.

The two women backed away and looked at each knowing that Alaric was not just any vampire. Whatever Esther had done to him was much more than the two of them could handle alone.

So, while he was preoccupied with pulling the stake out, both Claire and Rebekah blurred away in opposite directions.

Claire burst through the double doors leading her outside the school and she ran toward her car. She didn't know why she didn't just keep running, but a small part of her thought that since he didn't have a daylight ring that he wouldn't chance coming out into the sun.

As she jumbled with the keys, she froze when she felt a presence behind her and she whipped around and breathed, "Alaric…please…" What she saw before her _was not_ the same Alaric Saltzman. There was a new evil deep within him and his hatred was radiating off him. She opened her mouth again to speak, but his hands jerked up and all she saw next was blackness.


	16. I'd Come For You

**A/N: Here's the next part. I'm off for a week for Thanksgiving, but will be out of town from Tues-Sat. I'm hoping to have this story finished before then. I believe that there will be two parts left. I'll work on the next part more tonight, and maybe tomorrow. If I were to...I don't know...get a lot of reviews from all of my followers, it may quicken the process. ;) Also, there is a bit of a cliffy at the end. Not a huge one. Again, thank you to all of you that take the time to review. It means a lot. **

_No matter what gets in my way  
As long as there's still life in me  
No matter what, remember  
You know I'll always come for you_

Yes, I'd come for you  
No one but you  
Yes, I'd come for you  
But only if you told me to

And I'd fight for you  
I'd lie, it's true  
Give my life for you  
You know I'll always come for you

_(lyrics by Nickleback)_

**I'd Come for You**

When Claire awoke, she found herself lying on the cold, hard floor of a classroom. Her head lifted and she looked around the room trying to gather her bearings. She noticed that she was in Alaric's classroom. Speaking of Alaric, he was nowhere to be found.

She sat up and scrambled to her feet. She tried to use her high-quality hearing to figure out just where Alaric was. When she didn't hear him anywhere in the vicinity of the classroom, she headed for the open door.

Just as she reached it, she jerked back quickly when his figure suddenly appeared blocking her only exit.

He scowled at her, his eyes dripping with hate. "Do you really think I'd make it that easy for you?" He blurred forward and shoved roughly into some desks sending her to the ground with a groan.

"Alaric," she gasped in pain. "This isn't you."

He jerked her from the ground by her neck, choking the breath from her body. "It's the _real_ me."

Knowing the man that she once fought alongside with was no longer the same man, she spat out, "Then just kill me then! What the hell are you waiting for?!"

"When you are no longer a use to me," he snapped before pushing her to sit in a desk. "Don't move," he growled and walked over to his desk. He began looking through it. Knowing that Elena had emptied all of his hunter-related weaponry, she didn't know what he was searching for.

When he pulled out some pencils, he glanced across his desk at her with an evil glint in his eyes. With the pencils in hand, he walked over to the pencil sharpener set up on the wall near the doorway.

As the sounds of pencils being sharpened filled the room, Claire quickly looked to the window where the blinds had been closed due to the bright rays of the sun.

She could burst through the window and make her escape. Glancing back at where Alaric was still sharpening one of the pencils, she gripped the desk in preparations to make her move. Swallowing, she gathered the courage deep within her and bolted toward the window.

However, she collided quickly with her captor. He pushed her back and snarled, "I'm much faster than you, Claire, so I'd advise you to remember that." His eyes glance downward and his hand swiftly takes her by her right wrist. He brought up her hand which contained her day-light ring.

He jerked it off and pushed her toward the desk again. He eyed the ring curiously and she spoke up, "It won't work for you." When she had his attention, she continued, "It only works for whomever the witch made it for." With a smirk, she added, "Makes it the sole property of the vampire that wears it."

"Sit down," he growled then pocketed the ring. She does as he asks and watched as he went over to his desk where she noticed a beaker filled with what looked and smelled like vervain. He dipped and soaked the pencils into the liquid before approaching her with the pencils in hand. "Now, put your hands flat in front of you."

With a look of dread upon her face, Claire placed her hands palm down on the desktop and watched as he lifted one of the sharpened wooden pencils with the point side down.

She gripped the edge with her fingers as he shoved the sharp point into her hand with great force.

She released a low grunt as she tried very hard to not cry out from the sizzling pain. "Is that all you got?" She clenched her eyes shut when he thrusts the other pencil into the back of her hand.

When he managed more of painful cry from her, he gave her a satisfied look, "Oh, there's more to come." He turned and walked back over to his desk to retrieve his cell phone.

As the pain continued to course through her body, she watched as he spun around and put the phone to his ear.

After a few rings, she could hear Elena's voice answer. _ "Whoever this is it's not funny."_

"Who else would it be?" he questioned.

_"Ric?"_

"Listen closely. I am at the school. I have Claire, and if you want to keep her alive, I'll need you to get in your car and come down right away. If you tell anyone where you are going," he glared over at Claire. "I will kill her."

He ended the call then grinned and held up the phone. "What are you doing," she asked watching him closely.

"Now, we're going to convince someone else to come save your life. Smile for the camera, Claire."

Before she could blink, he had pulled out another sharpened pencil and jammed it into her shoulder causing her to cry out.

After minutes of agonizing torture, he finally got what he wanted from her and he walked over to his desk to take a seat while her body tried to heal itself with the exception of the two pencils still wedged into her hands.

She watched as he took out her ring and started spinning it around on his desk. It wasn't long before she heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Right on time," he commented. He stood and walked over to the window and she shook her head while her skin still was sizzling from her last encounter with the sun.

"No," she pleaded weakly.

He only grinned and opened the blinds sending in the bright rays of the sun which caused Claire to cry out as they burned her flesh instantly. Luckily for her, he only kept them open for a few seconds obviously only using this moment to lure Elena into the right direction.

When he closed them again, he went over and retook his seat.

Elena entered the classroom and breathed, "Claire." She turned to Alaric and fiercely spoke, "Let her go, Alaric!"

He motioned to Claire, "Release her yourself."

The two stare at each other before Elena stepped toward Claire cautiously. "Elena," Claire choked out. "Don't. Get out of here."

Elena bent down to stroke her arm soothingly then started to gently pull a pencil from one of her hands. However, Alaric came up from behind her and slammed the pencil back into Claire's hand.

Claire cried out in agony again while Elena shouted, "You said you would let her go!"

Alaric growled, "How many times do I have to tell you, Elena? Don't trust vampires!"

* * *

Klaus charged up the sidewalk to the Gilbert house with rolled up newspaper created into a torch and a propane tank from the neighbor's grill. He had been trying for nearly fifteen minutes to get into the house without successfully being invited in.

After Rebekah had let him know about his mother's creation, he had packed up his things and went to pick up his doppelgänger before hitting the road.

However, the Salvatore brothers were not going to make it easy.

As he stomped up the stairs and onto the porch, the front door opened revealing Stefan. "Put it out."

Klaus smirked, "Why don't you come out here and make me." He watched as Stefan stepped over the threshold and onto the porch.

"Elena's not here," he began with a solemn look. "He has her and Claire and he's going to kill them both unless you turn yourself over to him."

At the mention of Claire's name, Klaus threw down the propane tank and his "torch" and growled.

"And he sent me something that may convince you to consider," Stefan replied as he handed over his phone which shown a glimpse of Claire on the screen. "Press play."

As he stared down at the pained look upon her face, Klaus pressed the play button and watched as the picture came to life.

_"Plead for your life," _Alaric's voice taunted.

With tear streaks trailing down her cheeks, she shook her head at the camera, _"I wouldn't give you the pleasure."_ This comment earned a rough slap to her face which caused Klaus' jaw to tighten.

_"Beg him to save you! Or I will kill you right now!"_

Her eyes rose to look over the camera and stared at him with mild amusement. _"Is that your grand plan? You think that you can lure him here by torturing me?_" She snorted at this and shook her head again. _"You've wasted your time. He won't come for me." _She looked defeated and weakened by her words. _"He won't come…not for _me_."_

Her admission caused his heart to drop. Did she really believe that her life would mean so little to him even after all that happened between them lately.

_"Oh, I think he will." _Alaric's voice sounded very confident. _"Maybe he'll just need some more convincing."_ The camera's view widened and he saw more of Claire as she sat with each of her hands jammed with pencils. Her clothes were scorched her face was red and blistered, but healing.

His grip on Stefan's phone tightened as Claire pleaded with Alaric. _"No, please not again!"_ Her plea was not heard. Suddenly, the sunlight shone upon her and she screamed in agony as singed her skin. She turned her head away, but it wouldn't help, for her body still smoked from the sun's rays.

_"Just kill me," _she begged when the blinds were shut again and the tears were flowing from her eyes. _"Please just kill me now!"_

_"Soon, Claire, but I want him to see what will happen if he doesn't come for you."_ He approached her again making the camera zero in on Claire's face again. _"Look into the camera, Claire. Let him see it one last time."_

Suddenly the sound the sound a bone breaking was heard, but all Klaus could focus on was her howling of agony.

The screen went black and Klaus eyes clenched closed as he smashed the phone into bits and pieces, and tossed the remains away with a growl.

When he regained his composure, he looked to Stefan again and spoke, "Now, I know that you're not asking me to walk into a certain death." Even though he was more than _willing _to do so for Claire's sake, he still wanted to live through it as well.

Stefan gave him a tight smile, "I really wish we could. But unfortunately, if Alaric kills you there's a one in four chance that we die too."

The other Salvatore exited the house with a piece of the white, picket fence that Klaus had thrown at him just minutes before propped on his shoulder. "I'll take those odds."

Stefan glanced pointedly at his brother, "And a hundred percent chance that Tyler dies."

Damon didn't seem fazed by that, "I'm good with that too."

"There's still that chance that Claire will die in the crossfire. I'm certain that neither of you would want that to happen." Both Damon and Klaus didn't speak another word only glowered in each other's direction. "Why don't we just figure out a way to put Alaric down?"

Minute later, Klaus and Stefan are pacing outside and Damon is leaning against the picket. Klaus stopped and turned around, "Okay, how about Damon sneaks in and distracts Alaric, while Stefan grabs Elena and carries her to safety?"

Damon snorted, "Huh, that's a great idea. What's to stop me from getting killed instantly?"

Klaus smirked, "Nothing."

Damon approached him, "Claire's in there. Don't you have a thing for her? Or did she just reject you too many times?"

"I'll take care of Claire," Klaus stated.

"Oh, I _bet_ you will," Damon bit out.

Stefan shook his head, "This isn't really, uh, helping too much."

Bonnie walked out of the house. "I might have an idea. My mom used a desiccation spell on Mikael that immobilized him for over 15 years. If I can get it, I might be able to use it on Alaric."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "If and might? Your words inspire such confidence."

Bonnie glared at him, "I'll get it. But even with the spell, we'll need a lot of vampire muscle to take him down including yours."

Klaus turned around and sighed as he stared up at the sun, "Just so we're clear, the sun sets in about eight hours. If we don't succeed before then, Elena will be dead, I'll be gone, and the rest of you will be left to fend for yourselves."

His mind went instantly to Claire. Hopefully, at least he'll be able to get her out alive and hopefully to leave with him, but that's a task that is better left for later.

* * *

With her broken, lower leg now healed, Claire watched miserably as Alaric approached the window again. "No, please, no more!"

He doesn't listen and opens the blinds once more causing her to howl in pain while Elena could only watch.

"Why are you doing this?"

Closing the blinds just before Claire would erupt into flames, he turned to Elena and said, "To make it easier for you to put her out of her misery." He picked up the white-oak stake and held it out to her.

Elena stared at him, "What?! No!"

"Isn't that what you wanted, Elena, for me to teach you how to kill vampires?" He motioned toward Claire. "Well, here's a vampire. Kill her."

"This isn't what I want."

Alaric glared at her, "You will or I will do much more to her than I have so far." He held out the stake again and she stared at it.

Ten minutes later, Claire cries out as Alaric shoved the stake into her side and pulled it back out again. This had been going on for a few minutes and she was beginning to feel her body unable to withstand too much more of the torment.

"Why are you doing this," Elena shouted.

"Because you need me," he stated staring at her. "Because you are an 18 year old girl without parental guidance or any sense of right or wrong anymore."

"Look at you," Elena countered, motioning toward Claire. "How is this right?"

"She's a murder, Elena. Either you kill her or I will and I'll make it hurt worse." He jerked Elena from her seat. "Now, stand up and do it!" He places her in front of Claire and forces the stake into her hand.

When he pulls away, Elena stands there holding the stake and staring anxiously at Claire.

Claire nodded her head and gave her brave smile. "It's okay, Elena. Just do it."

Elena nodded and gripped the stake, raising it up. Instead of advancing forward, she spun around to try and stake Alaric. He grabbed her wrist just before she could.

He jerked the stake from her hands then grabbed her roughly by the arm. "I thought I taught you better than that."

With a growl, Elena glared up at him while reaching for the beaker of vervain. "You _did_." She smashed the beaker over his head which made him release her screaming as his flesh burned.

She rushed over to Claire and pulled the pencils quickly from her hands. Claire climbed to her feet and immediately went for her ring.

Once she had her ring in her hand, she led the way to the door and hurried out. She was nearly to the other hallway before she noticed Elena wasn't with her.

She stopped and turned toward the direction where she had run from. She stepped forward to go back and help her, but she quickly swept into a pair of arms and pulled back. With hand firmly placed over her mouth, she struggled against her captor only to stop when a smooth voice spoke.

"Shhh. It's okay, it's okay. It's just me."

* * *

Upon hearing his voice, Klaus felt her relax in his arms and removed his hand from over her mouth. "You're safe." He didn't loosen his grip as he looked towards the hallway that he had seen her run from.

As she breathed heavily against him, he wanted nothing more than to take her out of here and make certain that she would be safe. He knew that he had to make sure Alaric was put down and her brothers would need his help with that.

He inhaled her scent before speaking, "Look, we'll save Elena. You go straight to Elena's house and stay there. Do you understand?" He turned her around so that she was facing him and that's when he saw the burn parts of her face that were just healing. "I'll make him pay for this," he stated dangerously as he brought a hand up to gently stroke her cheek.

She didn't pull away instead her eyes stared up into his. "You came for me," she breathed as her chest heaved up and down. She stared at him in astonishment.

"Your tone still drips with doubt," he commented disappointingly. "I would not let anything happen to you, Claire." As much as he wanted to continue, he needed her out of here. "Look, you have to get going…"

"Give them back to me," she whispered.

He looked at her uncertain to what she was asking.

"My memories," she cleared quickly. "I _want_ them back. Please give them back to me." Tears filled her eyes. "Please, Klaus."

Knowing that she was finally off the vervain, he knew that he was finally capable of doing so. He swallowed and stared deeply into her eyes, bringing his hands up to rest upon each side of her face. "Listen to me. I want you to get to the Gilbert's house as fast as you can. Don't leave until you hear from one of your brothers." Completely compelled, she nodded when he gave her these instructions. "When you get there…you will remember _everything_ about our time together and when this is all over it'll be your choice to find me, love."

He released a breath and placed a kiss to her forehead and stepped back.

"Go." He urged.

She nodded, "Thank you."

He stared at her a few moments before rushing off.

* * *

Blinking, Claire hurried off into the other direction and out the door to the parking lot. She didn't stop. She kept running until she was finally at the Gilbert's house.

She burst through the door, closing it behind her and called out, "Jeremy?" She stepped forward then suddenly stopped when a piercing pain shot through her head sending her to the ground.

* * *

**Remember to review! Review, people, review!**


	17. Memories

**Okay, first off...THANK YOU for all the reviews. The story has received over 100 reviews! I'm super excited. Next, I'm up and down with this chapter. I like it and I hate it. It was extremely tough. I wasn't going to go in detail with her regaining her memories, but then I thought about the episode in Season 4 where Elena remembers the conversation with Damon and she was sort of an onlooker in the memory, so that's what I decided to do. I hope everyone likes it. There should just be one more chapter left. **

**Also, a reviewer had stated that I was following the Klaus/Caroline storyline too closely. Well, I really appreciate the review and I realize that I'm mostly adding Claire into scenes that normally Caroline would be in, but I did state that at the beginning that Claire would be a part of those moments. For now and the sake of the story, that will just have to be. I feel like by adding the other details that the Claire/Klaus relationship is different from the Caroline/Klaus one simply because there is more moments between the two as well as a history. The next story with these two may or may not be the same, but I will try really hard to have some original ideas. Thanks!**

_The day we met_

_Frozen, I held my breath_

_Right from the start_

_Knew that I found a home_

_For my_

_Heart beats fast_

_Colours and promises_

_How to be brave_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall_

_But watching you stand alone_

_All of my doubt_

_Suddenly goes away somehow_

**Memories **

The moment her knees hit the floor, she felt herself go light-headed as her mind filled with different visions. It was like a whirlwind of images and they all were swirling around so fast that she had a hard time deciphering them.

Reaching up, she gripped her head trying to force her mind to stop with the spinning and then it all seemed to stop immediately.

She stared around her and then the first memory hit almost like a spike to the brain which snapped her eyes closed.

When she reopened them, she was no longer on her knees in the foyer of the Elena's house. Instead she was now alongside the Falls. It was different though. The bridge wasn't there and a lot of other manmade things were not there either. Climbing to her feet, she looked around, and her eyes froze when she saw a figure sitting on a log.

It wasn't just _any_ figure—it was _her_ dressed in a corset dress and sketching away in a notebook.

"I'm still human," she concluded and stared at her former self. She must be in 1863. Her eyes lifted when she heard footsteps over by the tree line and that's when she saw him—Klaus. Only this was a different looking Klaus.

His hair was a bit longer and he was dressed much like many of the wealthy men of this period.

She watched as he kept his distance and keeping himself hidden almost as if he was waiting for the opportune time strike just like a true vampire.

It wasn't long before her father arrived and when she heard the argument, she remembered that part very vividly.

When her father struck her, she lifted a hand to her cheek almost as if it just happened. "Bastard," she muttered and watched as he stormed off leaving her crying mess on the ground.

Her eyes didn't remain on her other self. She watched to see what Klaus did next. Before he looked like a predator stalking its prey, but now it was different. He almost looked sympathetic and almost entranced by her like she intrigued him.

She slowly approached the now talking pair and just stood back watching their interactions.

He introduced himself as Nik, not Klaus. Why? She only thought Rebekah had that privilege and yet he allows her to call him by this name as well?

"Interesting," she whispered.

As she watched herself talking to him, she couldn't remember any other time that she ever looking _that_ happy. Of course she was talking to someone who was living their life the way that they chose and she couldn't be blamed for envying that.

Her eyes moved over to look at Klaus and noticed that he could not take his eyes off of her. Apparently the present day Klaus still suffered from this problem, but to see _this_ Klaus doing so and with a simple human was a bit astonishing to witness.

After a few minutes, she watched Klaus stand and saw that he looked disappointed for a brief moment. It was like he was struggling with something, but shook it off.

"Claire," he began which caused a shiver to shake her body. Even he simply just saying her _name_ hadn't changed after all this time. Shaking her head, she watched as he took a few steps toward her.

He had her eyes locked to his, compelling her. "I want you to forget that you met me, understand? You will remember the altercation with your father and you were upset and time got away from you." He swallowed. "You will remember my advice and _live_, do you hear me?"

Claire watched herself nodding at this. Standing there, it was suddenly occurred to her that _he_ had been the one that had pushed her to _live_ her life to the fullest and she had remembered those words nearly two centuries later after seeing the world like she had dreamed so often as a human.

As she watched him disappear back into the woods, she just stood there with her mouth open and staring at the trees.

* * *

She watched as the memory was swept away and she found herself at another familiar place—a barn belonging to Edward Fell. It wasn't but a brief moment before Edward himself walked in carrying some chopped wood.

Why was she remembering this? If this was _her _memory then shouldn't she be present somewhere?

Then it all became very clear when Klaus dressed in the same attire that he had wore back at the Falls just hours with her former self.

As the two men exchanged words, she could tell that Klaus' first intentions were to compel the other man to forget her then Edward made a few nasty comments about her which seemed to anger Klaus immediately.

She watched the next events unfold in shock. So, Klaus had killed the man that she was supposed to marry. Had he done it for her just so that she could get whatever she desired? He wanted her to see this. In a way, she reasoned that he was doing it for her better interest.

If he had done it for himself then why didn't he just turn her into a vampire and take her away?

_No, he wanted me to live and explore the world as a human. _

* * *

Next, her memories took her back to the moment that she was transitioning into a vampire.

Katherine had been there when she had awakened from being smothered by a pillow by the other woman after being given vampire blood. After she had awoken, Katherine pulled her from her deathbed out into the woods where a young man was waiting compelled and offering his neck to Claire.

The moment that her fangs broke the skin on the man's neck, visions filled her mind which caused her to stumble back.

"What was that?" she questioned, jerking around to look at Katherine.

The other brunette peered at her confused, "What are you talking about? Drink!"

Claire shook her head, "I'm remembering something—a man, but I don't know who he is."

Impatient, Katherine took hold of the man and pushed him forward toward Claire, "You need more blood. Now, drink!"

With the vision of the man still in her mind, Claire found herself returning to her room after feasting on the man and a few others to take a seat on her bed with her sketchbook in hand. She began drawing the man's face over and over while thinking of the name that kept repeating in her mind…_Nik_.

* * *

Everything around her swirled and then it stopped again. Now, she was watching herself walking with Klaus from the 20's. She recognized the place as being Chicago, and she knew the year because of their attire.

The two of them were walking across the street from a movie theater which was showing _Nosferatu_ which she found very amusing considering she rather liked watching movies that depicted vampires in various ways. At least in this movie, they didn't _sparkle_.

As she watched them walking, arms linked, she couldn't get over how much different he was whenever it was just the two of them. It was like nothing else mattered, but _her_. She had never mattered so much to someone. Yes, there had been Jacob, the stable boy from back in her human years, but that was a young girl's crush. _This_ was much different.

Watching as she rattled on about her death and becoming a vampire, Klaus seemed to be hanging onto every word that she spoke and just seemed delighted to be in her presence again.

As she walked along with them, she allowed herself to really see how suited the two of them looked together.

Slowly, she felt herself releasing a few slow breaths as the realization hit her, but she still shook her head denying it and waited to see where this memory was taking her.

* * *

It wasn't long before she found herself standing in the lobby of the hotel watching herself sitting on leather couch, waiting patiently for someone. Then she remembered, _Nik_ was supposed to come by and pick her up to show her around Chicago. They were going to make a day of it.

She remembered feeling very excited to see him again and now here she was waiting anxiously for him.

As she stood watching from the revolving door, something outside caught her eye. She saw that it was Klaus and he was standing at the bottom of the steps. Stepping outside, she stared down at him as he seemed to have an inner battle with himself.

When he would take a step up, he would quickly shake his head and retreat. She watched his face mostly and saw that he was trying so hard to convince himself to go in, but it was like he couldn't find the will to do it.

Instead, he glanced disheartened at the door and finally turned away. As he walked away, it became clear to Claire that perhaps he found that he wasn't good enough for her. The present day Klaus _had_ told her that he took these memories to _protect _her from himself and maybe in _his _mind thought that standing her up would be easier than just letting his true feelings known.

With a saddened look, she walked back inside the hotel and watched her former self continuing to wait on the man for nearly an hour before she would later give up and return to her room heartbroken.

* * *

Next, she found herself inside Daisy's, the club that Gloria had taken over. Speaking of Gloria, Claire found the young black woman on stage crooning beautifully.

Looking around, she found herself sitting at the bar watching Stefan and Rebekah dancing not too far away. Her eyes searched for Klaus and found him sitting alone in the C-shaped booth not too far away just staring at her deep in thought.

It wasn't long before he was heading her way and tried to talk to her. Being the stubborn person that she was, she wasn't interested in talking to him and made it very clear to him.

As the night played out and became familiar again, Claire was convinced that she was completely seeing Klaus in a different light. Even though he was trying to convince himself that he was completely wrong for her, he still couldn't stay away from her.

She could tell that he was completely intrigued by her and watched as her former self was very much enthralled by him. In fact, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him.

It was different seeing herself this way with him. She had seen so much energy fighting it off in the present time, but here it seemed so natural.

Blinking, the scene around her changed again before her eyes.

* * *

It was another memory of them at Daisy's, but this time he had given her a belated birthday gift—the same bracelet that he had given her on her birthday the night that he had saved her from the hybrid bite.

Apparently, the man really wanted her to have this bracelet.

Then she saw herself leaning in and placing her lips against his. Suddenly, she was feeling the same emotions that she felt back then.

The kiss didn't last long, but it certainly made an impression and soon he was guiding the two away and into an empty hallway.

As she watched the two of them lose themselves in a heated kiss, she felt herself losing the ability to breathe. All of these memories were starting to get to her and make her feel things that she fighting so hard not to.

She observed him pulling away and trying to convince her that he was no good and didn't deserve her. Being the kind-hearted and determined person that she was, she shook off his negative comments and tried to convince him otherwise.

The words "I'm a bad person" ran through her mind. It was almost like he couldn't look past who he was, but she could. It didn't bother her. It obviously did not bother her too much because she was very firm when she said that she would go with him anywhere he went.

She saw his walls fall and he pulled her back in for a kiss.

As she stood watching, her ears detected some noise from outside the club and her head jerked back around to where they were seeing that Klaus had heard the noise too.

When the gunfire started, she followed the two of them into the bathroom where he was battling his emotions. He had his hands grasping each side of her face so that he could compel her. It looked like it was breaking his heart into million pieces to do so and Claire found herself tearing up as he choked out the words.

With a staggering breath, he spoke, "Thank you for showing me what love really feels like. We will meet again, love. I promise."

As he backed away, she felt the tears cascading down her cheeks as the vision blurred.

* * *

Now, she was standing watching as Klaus and Rebekah made their quick getaway from Mikael who was still at Daisy's. Klaus was packing up the truck while Rebekah didn't look too willing to leave. "What about Claire?" Rebekah questioned quickly. "I saw you with her. She _means_ something to you, Nik! Why aren't you taking her with you?"

"That doesn't matter," he threw back and pointed to the truck. "Let's go."

Rebekah shook her head. "No, not without Stefan."

"Stefan isn't coming," he told her which caused her to narrow her eyes. "He'll draw too much attention."

"You just _hate _to see anyone happy, don't you?"

"Rebekah," he began. "We don't have time for one of your tirades."

"Did you compel her to forget you," she asked sharply. "That girl genuinely _cares _for you and you are too much of a coward to just it bloody happen!"

"Watch yourself, sister," he warned with a glare. "Let's go before Mikael figures out that we aren't at the club."

"Let him! I'm tired of running, Nik. All we ever do is run! I want to be with Stefan. And I know that you want to be with Claire, too. Let your heart love her, brother."

Klaus stared at his sister for a few moments then shook his head. "Stop being ridiculous…I'm doing her a _favor_. She—she deserves _more_ than I could give her."

"You're scared," she pointed out which caused him to scowl. "Deny it all that you want, but you _are_."

"That's enough. Let's go."

"No," Rebekah snapped.

With a firm look, he spat, "Fine. Choose. Him or me." When his sister didn't speak, he snorted. "I thought so. Get in the truck." He turned to head for the driver's side, but froze when she spoke.

"Goodbye, Nik."

Claire had been watching the two siblings going at it and saw the pain in Klaus' face when his sister made the choice to leave him. He really didn't want to be alone. It was like he was scared and his reasoning for making those damn hybrids of his was becoming more clear to her.

She didn't need to see the events that would transpire next for she already knew that this was the point where Rebekah would be daggered and put into a coffin where she would remain for ninety years.

* * *

Her surrounding once again swirled around and she was standing in the study of the Mikaelson mansion.

This confused her just like the previous memory confused her. This along with the previous one was not a memory of hers, but of his. Why did he want her to see these particular memories?

Then it became very clear to her why. He wanted to her to see how _he_ saw and felt about her. On top of giving back her memories, he wanted to prove to her that he was still that man that she had fallen for decades ago even after all the things that he had done.

As she stood in the middle of his study, she watched as he entered dressed in the tux that he wore during the ball minus the jacket. The tie was loose and his dress shirt un-tucked and his suspenders dangling at his sides.

After fixing himself a drink, she watched as his tense form headed over to his worktable where he picked up some charcoal.

Slowly, she approached where he sat and looked over his shoulder as he worked. She began seeing the beginning outlines of her face, but his had stopped working to quickly crumble the picture up and tossed it aside. He stopped and stared at the blank page.

She stepped away when he suddenly stood and walked over to a bookcase where shelves filled with bounded notebooks. He let a finger scan over the spines before stopping on one. His fingers plucked it from between two other books and he carried it back over to his worktable.

Taking a sip of his drink, he opened it and began flipping through the pages. As her eyes took in all of his drawings, the more he turned the pages, the more she saw herself.

These sketches were different. They were of her a long time ago. He paused on one particular page and found that there wasn't a drawing on this page, but instead a napkin which had a simple sketch of her on it as well as the date _1922_.

Then she remembered that he had drawn her at Daisy's back during their 1920's encounter. She watched as he picked it up the napkin and stared at it. A small smile formed on his face and he placed the napkin back between the pages and closed the book then turned back to the blank page before him.

She stood in a trance as she observed him drawing the very sketch that he had left for her in her room. It was so different viewing him in this moment. It was so private and genuine.

The arrival of Kol entering the room disrupted the moment.

"Feeling better," Klaus joked as he kept drawing.

"Much," Kol quipped. "I'd like nothing more than to rip that Salvatore prick limb from limb, but mother insists that I let it go."

"And how long do you plan on _letting _it go?"

"Oh, I'll find the perfect time to seek my revenge," Kol promised then looked over his brother's shoulder and snorted. "I see you're still obsessing over that one. Honestly, brother, what is the big attraction? Yes, she somewhat appealing to the eye with one hell of a body on her…"

"Watch your next words, brother," his older brother warned.

Kol held his hands up in mock defense. "She's changing you, brother, and I don't necessarily say that I like it."

Rolling his eyes, Klaus shook his head, "I'm still the same man I was before her."

"Believe what you will, Klaus, but you aren't the same man anymore."

"And is that a bad thing," Klaus questioned, pausing to look at Kol.

"Yes! You can't let some woman change what you are!"

"She isn't just _some_ woman," Klaus whispered as he continued sketching. "I don't expect you to possibly understand perhaps one day _someone_ will change your views…"

Kol interrupted him with a loud chuckle, "My views of what? Love?"

Claire's ears perked at this and her eyes went back to Klaus curiously.

"Possibly," Klaus answered thoughtfully. "One day someone is going appear when you least expect it and awaken something deep inside of you that no other woman was capable of for a very long time."

"She'll just end up being just like Tatia, brother," Kol pointed out.

Klaus' eyes lifted to meet his brother's. "My feelings for Claire are in no way measurable to what I had felt for Tatia."

The vision started blurring much to the dismay of Claire who wanted to keep watching the two brothers conversing about her.

* * *

Even after all the memories that she was given back, she still saw flashes of other moments. These moments were filled of his visions of her.

She was seeing herself in _his _eyes and not her own. She saw the ways that he looked at her at the ball. When she had arrived, he had been talking to another woman, but when his head turned in her direction that's when she saw it. He was awed by her. His eyes never left hers. His attention never wavered. It was like nothing else existed but her.

What woman wouldn't want that kind of attention?

Then she was flashbacked to the night of her hybrid bite. She had seen what happened to the hybrid that had orchestrated the whole attack and it made her see that the very _last _thing that he would ever want is for her to get hurt by anyone associated with him.

More flashes of time with him filled her mind. She saw his smiles, his true feelings shine through then everything went black again.

* * *

She jerked up with a gasp and pressed a hand to her chest as she took in her surroundings. She found herself on the floor of the Gilbert's foyer.

Feeling the tears pooling her eyes, she quickly climbed to her feet and headed for the door and opening it. When she tried to step out, she found that her body didn't allow her to. It remained stock-still.

Then she remembered. He had compelled her to stay in the house until one of her brother's called her. Feeling her breathing quicken, she recalled the fact that the three of them were going to be taking on Alaric.

She gathered that at least Klaus was okay or else she would be standing here right now, but what about her brothers?

Quickly, she pulled her phone from her pocket and tried to call Damon, but it went instantly to voicemail, so she hung up and called Stefan. When she got his voicemail as well, she sighed, "It's me. Someone call me _now_!"

Hanging up, she stared at her phone and realized that she had a missed call and a voicemail from an unknown number. With a baited breath, she pressed in her password and put the phone to her ear. She heard the familiar accent from Klaus.

_"Claire, I hope that you arrived at the Gilbert's house safely. I gather by this time you have gotten all of your memories back and your head is filled with many questions. I will answer all of those if you desire, but I'm afraid time is very limited. My offer still stands. Come with me. Be with me. I'll be at my home, but not for much longer. Call me the moment that you get this and I will wait for you. I hope that you believe me now. I hope to hear from you soon."_

She quickly took note that the call had been made nearly an hour ago. Had she been out for that long? She went to call him back, but her phone started ringing again and she saw that it was Damon's name flashing on the screen.

Answering it, she questioned, "Damon, what's going on?"

"Where are you," he asked first. "Are you okay?"

"Elena's," she answered. "I'm fine. Now fill me in."

"The bastard took her," Damon growled.

"Alaric," she asked.

"No, the hybrid prick! He took her the moment he figured out that Alaric's life was connected to hers. He only lives if she does, so I'm gathering that the prick is going to drain and let her die just save his own ass!"

Swallowing as she took in her brother's account of the situation, she replied lowly, "What's the plan?"

"Desiccate the son of a bitch," he told her forcefully. "Stefan and I are almost there now. We've clued Tyler in. He's going to try and help from there."

The moment he said _desiccate_, her eyes widened, "No, wait, maybe it doesn't have to come to that…"

"Of course it does! He's going to kill Elena. Meet us there!" The other line ended and Claire felt herself go cold. She brought her phone back up and immediately dialed Klaus' number. She had to warn him. She had to stop him before he killed Elena.

If she could just do that then everything would be okay. With the phone pressed to her ear, she shook as she waited for him to answer.

However, the other line just rang and rang.

* * *

From its place in his hand, Klaus felt his phone vibrating and he lifted it. The moment his eyes saw that it read _Claire_, he grinned. He was about to answer it before he heard some noise coming from where he was holding Elena.

He quickly walked in that direction and found disappointingly his very own hybrid helping the doppelgänger. "What is this? So much for the sire bond."

Tyler turned around and looked at him wildly. Klaus smiled and walked toward him. "I guess I'm not your little bitch anymore."

Tilting his head, Klaus questioned, "How did you break the sire bond?"

"By breaking every bone in my body for the girl that I loved," the teen declared.

Narrowing his eyes, Klaus stated, "Impossible."

"Is it," Tyler threw back as he approached him. "Or maybe true love is stronger than fake loyalty. But what would you know about that?"

"You know you should be thanking me. I took away your misery."

"You didn't give a crap about me! You just didn't want to be alone." He turned to Elena and helped her back up. "Come on."

With a flash, Klaus rushed forward and pushed her back down then grabbed Tyler by the throat and shoving him into a wall. "Goodbye Tyler."

He attempted to thrust his hand into his chest to rip the other hybrid's heart out, but Tyler quickly took hold of that harm and twisted it behind his back getting the best of him. When he turned around, he saw Stefan and Damon entering the room and came to Tyler's aide.

While Damon took hold of him, Stefan approached and shoved his hand into his chest and Klaus let out a yell as he felt his heart beginning to slow down and he knew what was happening. Instead of desiccating Alaric, they were going to the act to him. He felt the hope leave him as visions flashed before his eyes.

He saw visions of his family, the family that didn't want him. Then he saw visions of Claire, the woman that he cared for. He saw her face, her smiling, _enchanting_ face.

He felt his body succumbing to the desiccation and he tried to find the will to fight against it, but it was hopeless. He never felt so weak.

His eyes drifted up to Stefan, who he used to think was his friend, but all he saw from the man's eyes were justice.

He felt Damon release him and tend to Elena. When his eyes looked past Stefan, they filled with tears when he saw the figure standing at the doorway looking devastated.

* * *

The moment that Claire rushed in and saw the scene before her all that she could do was freeze by the doorway. Her eyes immediately went to his and saw the sadness deep within them. She wanted to step forward and intervene, to save him, but then her eyes took in everything else in the room.

Damon was with an injured Elena who was clutching her head. Next to them she saw the machines that were used to collect Elena's blood.

When eyes returned to his, she couldn't help but feel let down. As she watched his body become desiccated and soon lowered to the ground, she turned away unable to look any longer. It pained her to watch any longer.

It had been done. There was nothing she could do now. He had made his choice. Elena's blood had been more important to him. She wasn't enough for him.

Walking out of the room, she stopped and pressed her back against the wall near the entryway of the room she just exited. Her body slid down until she was sitting on the floor with her knees pressed to her chest.

She fought back the tears as she heard approaching footsteps. Damon and Elena walked past followed by Tyler. Stefan came out next and paused when he saw her.

"Claire," he said lowly, gaining her attention. "It's done."

She nodded slowly and climbed back to her feet. "What do I need to do?"

He eyed her. "We need to get Elena home before Alaric is able to terrorize the place. Why don't you go back to the house, change, and get some blood in you. We'll hook back up at Elena's in a half hour?"

Nodding again, she watched him walk away. She found herself walking over to the door nearby and looked in. Her eyes found him laying their motionless and staring blankly up at the ceiling.

With a look of helplessness, she turned away and walked toward the front door trying to keep it all in.

By the time she reached her bedroom minutes later, she couldn't hold in any longer. It was all too much and it was finally time to let it all out.

First, she screamed and then started thrashing about, tearing pictures off her walls and ripping the bedspread from her bed. Next, came the clothes hanging from her closet, but she froze instantly when she saw the blue dress from the ball.

As she stood breathing heavily and staring at the dress, she felt the tears stinging her eyes and she felt the lump form in her throat as it became all too real for her.

She had gotten back the memories. She had seen the man that he was. She had come to realize her true feelings for him. And now it was over. Her brothers were going to cart him off and dump him into an ocean somewhere and he would be gone.

Turning away from the closet, she walked over to her bed and sat down as the tears flowed. Sniffling, she reached for hardbound copy of _Pride & Prejudice_ and let her fingers glide over something sticking out from it. She opened the book and plucked the small piece of parchment from between the pages. She held it up and gazed down at the drawing that Klaus had left for her in her room the night of the ball.

With a staggering breath, she felt herself really losing control of her emotions and felt completely lost.

What now?

**Good? Bad? Review, please! **


	18. In the End

**A/N: I know 2 updates in 2 days I am amazed myself. Well, this is the last chapter everyone. There will be an epilogue, but this is the last FULL chapter. I am uploading this today because I received A LOT of amazing reviews and so to thank all of you here is an update! Enjoy! Please REVIEW!**

**In The End**

As she sat staring at the destruction around her, Claire's cell phone starts buzzing from its place in her pocket. Wanting nothing more than just to ignore it, she decides against that and reached for it and pulled it out.

She stared at the screen which read _Out of Area_ and then pressed it to her ear, "Hello?"

"Claire," a familiar voice greeted.

With a brief smile, she said, "Elijah."

"I am relieved to hear your voice. I take it that the hunter didn't harm you too badly?"

"I'll be fine," she told him. "No thanks to your sister who left me to fend for myself _after _I saved her."

"Yes, Rebekah left that particular part out. I do apologize. I won't take up too much of your time, but I need to know what has happened to my brother. Rebekah has told me that he stayed behind and we cannot get a hold of him."

The lump reformed in her throat, "He came for me the moment that he found out I was in trouble."

"Not that I'm surprised," Elijah said stunning her. "As much as I want to deny it, you've _changed_ him, Claire. Maybe not fully, but I see his humanity show most when he's around you. Rebekah has let me in on your past with him and it all seems to make more sense to me. He cares deeply for you."

"I know," she whispered and then swallowed. "Look, Elijah, something happened to Klaus. Something that my family felt was necessary given his actions towards Elena."

"Tell me," he requested firmly.

"He tried to drain her of her blood…_kill_ her…" She sighed and continued. "He's currently desiccated in a casket. I can't tell you the plans nor will I help you steal him back. I'm loyal to my brothers, but if I am able to help without being directly a part of it and if no harm will come to my brothers then I will do it."

"And why would you do such a thing even after all that he's done?"

"I owe it to him. He saved me, twice. And because…" her voice trailed off.

"You care for him," Elijah supplied.

"Not that it matters now, but yes I do." Shaking her head, she asked, "Where are you?"

"Out of the state," he answered. "We've spread out to make ourselves less accessible to the hunter."

"That's probably wise. Look, I will keep you updated and let you know where we take his body. I wish that I could give you more, but I can't do that to my brothers even if he is one of yours."

"I understand, Claire. I will send you my number and you can text me with the details."

"I will," she promised. "Goodbye, Elijah." She hung up and released a few breaths.

Her brothers would not be happy with her knowing that she wanted Klaus' family to have back his body. What they did with it was their own business, but she didn't want to see him dropped into the Atlantic that's for sure.

Checking the time on her cell phone, she stood and quickly found something to change into and then hurried down to the cellar to grab a blood bag.

* * *

A half hour later, Claire met back up with her brothers at Elena's house where she saw Klaus' Suburban parked beside the curb with Damon leaning against the passenger side.

"What's the plan?" she asked softly.

He nodded toward the vehicle, "We've got the coffin all ready to transport."

Claire's eyes peered through the windows and indeed found the coffin inside, "When are we leaving?"

"Well, Stefan and _I _are leaving in a few minutes," he corrected eyeing her.

Her eyes gave him a puzzled look, "No, I'm going with you guys."

"Do you think that's wise," he asked. "I mean even I saw it."

Glaring, she questioned, "Saw _what_ exactly."

With a chuckle, he held his hands up defensively. "Fine, deny it. Look, maybe you should just stay behind and…"

"Be on Elena duty?" she countered with a snort. "No thanks. If you or Stefan wants your precious Elena to be protected then one of you stay behind. I'm coming."

By this point, Stefan had exited the house and was heading their way. "What's up?"

"Our little sister wants to join us," Damon informed him.

Stefan eyed her skeptically just like Damon had done. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

"Yes," she stated with gritted teeth. "What is the big deal?"

"Well, for starters _we_," he pointed to Stefan and himself before continuing, "want to see the bastard at the bottom of the Atlantic. Stefan wants to be present to make sure justice is served. I want to be able to appreciate the sight of watching the casket sink and disappear. Now you," he paused and studied her suspiciously. "What are _your _reasons for wanting to witness the act firsthand?"

"I have my reasons," she replied. "I choose to keep them to myself." When this earned more stares from her brothers, she sighed. "Fine, I just want some closure that's all."

"Closure from…" Damon prodded.

When Claire looked ready to pounce, Stefan spoke up, "Okay. You can come. However, there are some conditions first."

With a raised brow, she questioned, "Conditions?"

"Actually it's just one condition," Stefan said. "You have to swear that you'll never disclose the location to anyone especially one of the Originals."

"Particularly Elijah," Damon added.

"Fine," she said simply.

"Say it," Stefan requested firmly. "If you don't swear on it, Claire, you will not be coming. Give us your word."

She stared at him and then at Damon. She knew that once she swore that she wouldn't be able to go against her word especially not when it came to swearing to her brothers. Those two were the only ones that she wouldn't betray.

Trying not to appear defeated, she nodded, "Okay. I swear that I will not disclose the location of the coffin to anyone." She looked at them both expectantly. "Satisfied?"

"Yes," Stefan said and reached into his pocket. "Let's go. It'll be dark in a couple of hours and we need to be out of Mystic Falls."

His two siblings nodded and he went around the driver side. Claire opened up the door the backseat and stared frozen when she saw the coffin.

Damon cleared his throat, "Want shotgun?"

Swallowing, Claire looked up at him and quickly shook her head. "No, I'll be fine." She slid into the small seat that had been left up and closed the door behind her. Trying not to look at the coffin just inches from her, she stared straight ahead as Stefan put the vehicle in drive.

The moment that they were on the highway, Claire glanced up to the front of the car where her brothers were talking lowly. Inconspicuously, she pulled her phone from her pocket and brought up her messaging app.

She typed in a number then typed out the text: **We're leaving now.**

Biting her lip, she watched her brothers and waited for the reply.

When she glanced back down at the screen another speech bubble appeared and read: **_Where are they taking the coffin?_**

Inwardly wincing, she quickly typed back:** I can't tell you that I'm sorry. I have a back-up plan. You need to get back to Mystic Falls and talk to Elena. Make a deal with her. I don't care what kind of a deal just make one please!**

**_I'll see what I can do. Promise me that you'll keep the coffin safe. _**

**I promise, Elijah.**

"What are you doing back there," Damon asked causing her to jump slightly.

"Updating my Facebook status," she quipped sarcastically as she deleted the conversation between herself and Elijah. She pulled up the game _Temple Run _and held it up for him to see. "I'm playing a game. I get bored easy on road trips."

His eyes widened slightly. "Ooh I bet I can get farther than you."

Rolling her eyes, she handed him the phone. "Have at it."

With a chuckle, Damon began playing, "Prepare to meet the master."

"I really would have preferred to make this trip _alone_," Stefan remarked dryly.

"And miss out on the quality family bonding time," Damon questioned in mock-offense. "Honestly, brother where would you rather be than with us?"

"I don't have to waste my time by answering that do I?"

Damon snorted and focused on keeping the explorer from being eaten by gorillas. Stefan kept his attention on the road ahead. Claire sat back in her seat and let her head turn to look at the coffin beside her.

With an intake of breath, she diverted her eyes and decided that looking at the passing scenery was much more appealing.

An hour later, the moon was out and Claire was sitting with her phone back in her possession while Damon and Stefan spoke with Jeremy in the front.

"You did what?" Damon asked sharply.

Jeremy's voice came over the speaker, "I took her to the hospital. When you find your sister unconscious, you call 911."

Damon glanced over his shoulder at Claire. "I knew that you should have stayed behind. You would have had better sense to stop him!"

Rolling her eyes, she kept quiet.

"Every remaining Original is going to want Elena dead to stop Alaric. She's a sitting duck in there." Stefan told Jeremy firmly.

Claire perked up at this. "Wait, what? Why would they want Elena?"

Damon stared at her and seemed to remember. "Oh, right. You weren't around for that little detail. Esther linked Elena's life with Alaric. He can only die if she does." He turned his attention back to the younger Gilbert. "And _someone_ decided to do something very stupid and took her out of the only safe place from those that want to kill her!"

Suddenly, it became very clear to Claire to why Klaus was trying to end Elena's life. He wanted to end Alaric's by doing the only thing he could do.

"Well," Jeremy began. "Meredith wants to keep her here for observation."

"Jeremy," Damon bit out. "Get her home. We're on our way." He ended the call and glared over at Stefan. "Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you not being the dumbest brother on Earth?"

Stefan gave him a look.

"You know," Claire spoke up. "We really shouldn't take Klaus back to Mystic Falls. Alaric will pounce the first chance he gets."

"She's right," Stefan replied. "One of us needs to keep moving. If Klaus did sire our bloodline, we need to keep him hidden before Alaric finds him, kills him, and we all end up dead."

"Fine," Damon said with a sigh. "I swear our life is one, big proverbial coin-toss." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a quarter and motioned to Claire. "Care to do the honor?"

Claire leaned forward and took the coin from him, "The honor of deciding which brother gets to go off and play protector once again for Elena and further putting their lives in danger? Sure, why the hell not?" Earning glares from both brothers, she sighed, "Okay, heads Damon goes back and tails Stefan goes." She tossed it up and snatched it then slapped it on the back of her hand. Lifting her other hand, she glanced at it and said, "Stefan it is. Damon and I will continue on with the coffin."

Nodding, Stefan pulled the car over. Damon slipped over to the driver seat while Claire was more than willing to swap her seat for the passenger one.

"Be careful," he told them.

"Always," Claire promised and Damon nodded at their brother before pulling away.

* * *

It wasn't long, another half hour, before Stefan called them with another situation.

"You guys are on speaker phone," Stefan told them on the other line.

"What's going on?" Claire asked.

"Elijah is here," Stefan responded which cause Damon to glance over at Claire in question.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Damon questioned heatedly.

"He was just getting to that," Stefan said then continued. "Go ahead."

"All we need is to take that stake away from the hunter." Elijah began. "Once it's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us."

Stefan spoke up, "And you'll just run?"

Elijah spoke again, "We've done it before. Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Elena is able to live out the rest of her natural life?"

Elena cleared her throat, "We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back."

"I give you my word, Elena. I will not revive Klaus within yours nor even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."

Matt jumped in, "Why should she trust you? All you've done is screw her over."

"And for that, I am deeply ashamed. But know this, she could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight, so Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not."

Suddenly, Damon had finally heard enough and voiced in, "Not! Hello, did that concussion give you brain damage?! His lunatic siblings will kill you the first chance they get!"

"Rebekah and Kol will honor the terms. If you return Klaus' body to us, Elena will come to no harm." Elijah assured firmly. "Do we have a deal?"

Damon gripped the steering wheel tighter as he spat, "No! No, no, no, no. Did I mention NO?"

Claire waited quietly and knew at any moment that Stefan would speak and give the choice to…

After a brief moment, Stefan spoke, "Elena, it's up to you."

"Oh, come on!" Damon bellowed beside her while Claire secretly rejoiced to the fact that she knew her brother all too well.

Now if only…

She heard Elena sigh, "We have a deal."

With the specifics being made moments later, the call ended and Claire looked over at Damon who looked royally pissed off. "Un-freaking-believable," he growled.

"We'll still need to hide him from Alaric," she spoke up and pulled out her phone. "I'll see if there are any storage units nearby."

"I'll call Bonnie," he spat. "Maybe she can put some kind of anti-locator spell on him or something."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were standing in the storage unit 1020 staring at the casket as it sat in the middle of the unit.

A noise caused them both to turn toward the door. "That'll be Bonnie," Claire said. "Go ahead. I'll wait here." When he eyed her, she sighed, "Damon. I'm fine. Go."

With a slight nod, he exited leaving her there alone with him. Swallowing, she reached forward and opened it revealing him to her.

She stared at his gray face and jumped slightly when his eyes opened to stare at her. They no longer held the blue color that they once had instead they were dark and disturbing.

After a brief moment, she didn't know if she was able to speak, but then the words came to her. "There isn't much to say is there? I guess I wish I could have been enough for you, but in the end making hybrids matters most do you, doesn't it?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was very soft croak, "Claire…"

"I'm not finished," she stated firmly. "I get why she had to die and why you did it. You did it for me so I would live."

Klaus closed his mouth and stared at her again.

"You didn't have to do that," she whispered next. Her eyes filled with tears. "I would have run away with you. I'm not talking about now. I'm talking about ninety years ago. I would have gone with you in a heartbeat, but you couldn't see past your fears and _trust_ me. Think about what would have been if you had. We would have been happy. I would have done the same today, but you wanted that precious doppelgänger blood and look where it got you. You would have had _me_. You wouldn't be lonely anymore, but I wasn't enough was I?"

He doesn't answer.

"I guess we might never know will we?" Wiping away her tears, she gave him one last glance and whispered. "Goodbye, Nik." Reaching up, she reclosed the lid and stepped away just as she heard the approaching footsteps of her brother and Bonnie.

When the two entered the storage unit, she headed for the door.

"I need some air," she said quickly not wanting them to see her face.

* * *

Minutes later, Damon was stepping out of the building and found her sitting against. He walked over and took a seat beside her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She glanced over him, "Do _you_ want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly, but I'm not blind, Claire. I see what's going on here."

"And what is that exactly?"

He stared at her and bluntly said it, "You care about him." When she just stared at him in shock, he chuckled, "I know that I can be a dick and at times may only think of myself or Elena…I do notice when my sister is struggling with feelings that—while I think are ridiculous considering who they are directed towards— are troubling her."

"I guess the heart wants what the heart wants," she whispered bitterly. She stared over at him and noticed the look of opposition on his face. "I tried _really _hard not to, D. I wanted nothing more than to see him dead and gone, but we have this history that I didn't know about until most recently."

"So, you're saying that you knew Klaus _before_ all of this?"

She nodded and nothing else was said mainly because Bonnie had exited the building and looked at them. "It's been done. I'm heading back."

Both Salvatore's nodded and watched the witch head to her car. When Bonnie drove away, Damon climbed to his feet. "Well, I guess we should call the Mikaelson's so they can come and pick up their brother."

While he walked back inside, Claire remained where she was. It was going to be ending soon. One of the Mikaelson's was going to come and take Klaus' body away. Claire didn't know whether or not she wanted Elijah to keep her updated with the just _where_ they were planning on taking him.

After nearly ten minutes of sitting outside, she stood and was about to head back into the building before she heard a noise coming from the other end of the parking lot.

"Well that was fast," she said as a figure approached her. When the light revealed the person, her eyes widened. "How the hell did you find us?"

Alaric smirked. "I have my ways. Good to see you again, Claire. Maybe you can make this easier on yourself and just point me to where Klaus is."

With a scowl, she answered, "Not a chance in hell."

He tilted his head at her. "Protecting him now? Well, if you wish." He rushed forward and grasped each side her of her head and growled, "Before the night is done, you will watch him die." With a quick jerk, she saw blackness.

* * *

When she came to twenty minutes later, she quickly climbed to her feet and hurried inside straight to Unit #1020. Once there, she found the door already open and the coffin gone. That's when she heard the commotion off into the distance.

She ran as fast as she could to where they had left the Suburban. Damon and Rebekah were there as well as Alaric. He had just kicked Damon away while Rebekah was lying not too far away and regaining her bearings.

Alaric, now at the coffin, opened the lid and stared down at the desiccated Klaus. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the stake.

With eyes wide, she shouted, "No!" She rushed forward and jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and trying to grab the stake.

He whipped around and with force grabbed her arms and threw her over his shoulder where she landed on her feet ready to fight back, but his hold on her was too strong. With an arm now wrapped around her neck from behind, he held her against him.

"Nice try, Claire, but you're going to watch him die right before your eyes," he growled.

Her eyes went to where Klaus laid staring at them. She shook her head and forcefully bit out, "No, I won't!" Pulling her arm free from his hold, she reared back to elbow him hard into the ribs and broke free. She spun around to try and knock stake from his hold, but he recovered quickly and grabbed her around the neck.

He sent her flying across the area into a wall of a storage unit, knocking the wind out of her. He turned around just as Rebekah climbed to her feet and started to advance.

He raised the white-oak stake and Rebekah shouted out, "No!'

Damon jumped to his feet as well heading toward him too, "No, don't!"

With a smirk, Alaric turned back to the coffin and brought the stake down and shoved into Klaus' heart which causes Claire to cry out, "No!"

Damon quickly took hold of Rebekah as she cried out for her brother and kept her from going any closer.

Now on her feet, Claire watched in horror as Klaus' body ignited in flames and she felt her body lose feeling. It was over. There was nothing that she could do. He was gone.

Alaric pulled the stake back out and slammed shut the lid then turned toward Damon with a crying Rebekah in his arms. He motioned for her. "Next."

Damon pushed Rebekah behind him, "Rebekah, run! Run!" He shoved her into the opposite direction of Alaric and she blurred off.

Damon rushed forward to distract the advancing hunter, but Alaric shoved him out of the way and disappeared after Rebekah.

Climbing to his feet, Damon walked over to where Claire was standing staring blankly at the coffin. Her body was shaking, her breathing was rapid. He wrapped his arms around her and at the contact she lost it. His arms were the only thing keeping her upright as she sobbed against him.

* * *

It took several minutes before Claire was calmed down enough and Damon could release her. While she recovered, he pulled out his phone and walked over and took a seat against the back tire of the Suburban. He pressed the phone to his ear, "Bad news brother. Alaric staked Klaus. He's dead."

Claire walked over and took a seat beside him.

_"I feel okay," _Stefan responded. _"Do you feel anything?"_

"No," Damon answered looking at Claire.

_"It took Sage about an hour before she got sick." _

Damon snorted, "Yeah or Klaus was lying about being the sire of our bloodline."

_"Well, if he wasn't lying, an hour is not enough time to get you all the way back to Mystic Falls." _

Damon lifted a brow and retorted, "For us to have our epic goodbye, Stefan?"

Stefan cleared his throat, _"Not us, brother. You and Elena."_

Damon smiled sadly, "Well, I guess you'll just have to say goodbye for both of us, won't you? Call me if you cough up a lung." He hung up the phone and replaced it in his pocket.

"You're not going to at least _try_ to get back to her?" Claire asked him.

"There's no point," Damon replied. "If given the choice, she would say the final goodbyes to Stefan and not me."

"You don't know that," Claire whispered.

"No point in dwelling on it," he countered.

"Since we might not be around long enough for me to really feel bad about this next statement," she began as she stared at him. "She doesn't deserve you, Damon. I'm sorry, but the girl was never going to make her choice between you and Stefan. She was going to string you along and hurt you both in the end just like Katherine."

"You don't know that," he grumbled.

"Maybe not, but I'm tired of you two getting hurt by this girl. I've already watched Katherine destroy the relationship between you two. I refuse to let Elena Gilbert do the same thing at least not any more than she has already."

"Enough," he said clearing his throat. "Let's not ruin what could be our final moments discussing my failed love life." He reached down and grabbed her hand, squeezing it.

"At least we're together," she whispered as she laid her head on her brother's shoulder. "I really wished Stefan was here."

"We'll see him again," he said. "Watch and see. It'll turn out that one of the other Originals sired our bloodline and we'll all be fine."

"And if we don't," she swallowed. "I'm really sorry for making you become a vampire."

"Claire, please, I let that go ages ago."

"Still, you never wanted this. You wanted to die and I didn't want to be alone nor did I want to watch my older brother die. You hated this life, Damon, and for that I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," he whispered. "I'm sorry too."

"For what," she asked in confusion.

"Hating you for it," he answered. "I made the choice."

There a brief silence between the two of them and she chuckled, "We're having another moment."

He chuckled too. "I'll deny it if you breathe a word about it to anybody."

"You're a good man, Damon."

"Eh, now you're getting too mushy, baby sis."

She snorted, "Fine. You're a jackass. Satisfied?"

"Immensely," he remarked just as his phone rang again. He pulled it out and Claire caught a glimpse of the screen which read _Elena._

She pulled away. "I'll let the two of you have a moment." Climbing to her feet, she walked away and back outside for some more air.

When she reached the graveled parking lot, she stared up at the moon and hugged her arms around herself.

She wasn't out there very long before something rushed past her and into the building. She quickly followed the figure knowing fully well who it was. Just as she reappeared where she had left Damon, she found him and Alaric going at it. He sent Damon to the ground forcefully.

Filled with anger at the loss of Klaus, she wanted nothing more than to rip his head off. With a snarl, she attacked.

He spun around just as she advanced and blocked her punch then shoved her away. He turned back to where Damon still laid and gave him a quick, hard kick in the side. "What you're not going to fight back?"

"You're kind of invincible, Ric."

Alaric growled, "Don't call me that." He kicks them in the face. "We're not friends."

"We were once," Damon pointed out with a groan.

"That was the problem. It's what kept me weak. It's also why it took so long for the real me to break though. Now that it has, I'm going to break you." He went to kick Damon again, but Claire was there to stop him and managed shove him away then advanced forward to punch him in the face sending him backward.

He quickly recovered and charged forward knock her away with a quick move of his hand. Damon regained his footing and attacked him for that. "Watch it buddy. I don't take too kindly to anyone hurting my sister."

The two throw a few punches before Alaric sent Damon flying again to the ground. Claire went for another attacked, but her punches were yet again blocked and she thrown to the ground several feet from her brother.

With a groan, Damon called out, "Is that all you got?"

"Not quite," Alaric remarked pulling out the stake and dropping down to try and stake Damon.

Claire quickly climbed to her feet and tackled him sending stake from his hands as they both hit the ground. They both shot to their feet as Damon appeared behind Alaric and grabbed his arms while Claire punches him in the face.

Spitting the blood from his mouth, he laughed, "Trying avenge your true love?"

Glaring, Claire made a move to punch him again, but Alaric quickly jerked his head back, knocking Damon back and releasing his arms. He maneuvered away to go and retrieve the stake lying nearby and went for Claire this time, but Damon pushes her out of the way and grabs the hunter's wrist.

The stake fell from his hands as Alaric's actions suddenly stop. He gave them a puzzled look before his body seemed to collapse under him. Quickly, Damon grabbed him and they fell to their knees.

"What's happening," Alaric choked out.

"Oh no," Damon whispered as his former friend soon dies in his arms.

"Damon," Claire whispered as her brother's tear-filled eyes met hers.

"No, no, no, she is not dead. She is _not_ dead."

Dropping to her knees, she wrapped her arms around him as he held their fallen friend.

**A/N: Okay, I'm not thrilled with the fight scene, but I tried. I hope it was bearable. Remember to Review. Epilogue to follow.**


	19. Epilogue

**Okay, this is it you guys. The final part of this story. Yes, before anyone else asks, I do plan on doing a sequel, so follow me so that you will be alerted the moment I post something. I have not started the next story nor do I know when I will. It's going to be a busy few weeks for me, so please be patient and I hope that you will read the next story about Claire and Klaus. I never thought I'd finish this story and I have really appreciated all the reviews! Thank you! Enjoy!**

**Epilogue**

Claire walked into her room after quickly making sure Damon and Stefan were both alright after the death of Elena. In the end, Elena survived after previously being given vampire blood by Meredith Fell earlier that day. So, now she was a vampire going through her transition.

As she looked around her still wrecked bedroom, Claire couldn't help but feel completely pissed at the turn of events. She had put _her_ emotions aside to console her brother Damon who was grief-stricken the whole way back to Mystic Falls. Then miraculously, Elena had lived.

Even Elena couldn't die without some kind of turn of event occurring to make it all right again. Now, she was going to be a vampire and would further have the opportunity to string her brothers along for an eternity if she felt the need.

Now, Claire on the other hand had to lose someone who could have been the one person that she could have spent the rest of her immortality with. It didn't seem at all fair to her in the least and she found herself growing even more intensely angry.

Why did Elena get to live? All of this was because of _her_ whether it be completely her fault or not. If Elena hadn't had existed, Klaus would have found her again and there wouldn't have been a doppelgänger there to make his damn hybrids and she have been enough for him. They could have had a life together. A life filled with traveling the world, seeing everything that they possibly could see, and being with each other for the rest of their existence.

Sniffling, she wiped away a fallen tear streaking down her cheek.

She wasn't going to get that now. He was gone. A part of her really had wished that he had sired them because the more that she thought about it. Living life without him again didn't seem all that important to her. _He's dead, _she thought miserably. She kept repeating the words over and over in her head.

The more she thought about Klaus' death, the more rage-filled she felt at the injustice of it all. It had been a very long time since she felt such anger and she really needed to find a release somehow before she lost her mind!

Zooming out, she ran as fast as she could through the woods hoping that she could run it out of her system and she found herself running for a very long time.

As she whipped past tree after tree, she felt herself losing bits and pieces of her sanity. She saw flashes of them as she ran.

She saw his face the moment that he first spoke to her.

She remembered the way that he felt when he held her as they kissed. She remembered _his_ lips on hers.

She recalled his face brightening when she walked into the ball. His attention was solely on her and no one else.

He wanted to take her away and show her the world. The same world that she had already seen because of him

He had done so much for her and never asked for anything in return. He just did it because he _cared_. The evil hybrid _cared_ for only her and now he was gone.

Finally, she couldn't run anymore. Her vision was clouded with tears and she stopped moving and leaned her body against a tree and sobbed. With her back pressed against the trunk, she slid down to the dirt and leaves and began rocking back and forth slowly.

A sound in the distance caused her head to turn and she came to realize that she wasn't too far from the highway.

The sound she heard was a single voice, a feminine voice.

_"You're not going to believe this! My car broke down again. This piece of crap is worthless!"_

Claire shot to her feet and headed toward the direction of the highway, stopping just at the point of where the trees ended.

Her eyes zeroed in on a petite blonde leaning against her old Toyota. The hood of the vehicle was propped up and the engine was smoking.

_"I know,"_ the blonde continued. _"I called for a tow, but they were all like 'We'll get there when we get there'. I mean honestly, the nerve of people! I have places that I need to be."_

The young woman didn't look any older than nineteen, but she reminded her so much of Caroline and she seemed to have the same kind of personality that happened to annoy her the same way that Caroline's did at times.

Swallowing, she let her ears travel beyond the blonde's incessant complaining and found herself listening to the beating of the human's heart.

She felt the veins appear as her eyes focused on the blonde. It had been a very long time since she tasted blood directly from the vein. While she had never had trouble controlling her hunger like Stefan, she found that she didn't just want the blood to drink. No, she wanted to _kill_ this woman. She wanted to get rid of this anger and loss that she was feeling.

Her fangs shot down as she readied herself for her attack.

She stepped forward and before she knew it she was directly behind the blonde, grabbing her from behind and covering her mouth. Her actions sent the woman's cell phone to the ground as she released a muffled yell. But Claire heard nothing. She whipped her head back with her fangs out and ready then she brought her head back down and let her fangs piece the human's skin.

The taste of blood was marvelous just like she remembered. As the woman struggled, Claire held her firmly in place and drank. Claire wanted nothing more than willing to drink her dry, but her body was forcefully pulled backward just before the woman was completely drained.

When she growled and made her way forward again, she noticed that Elijah had been the one that pulled her back and she froze.

He eyed her disappointedly before turning to the blonde who was on the verge of collapsing. He quickly bit into his wrist and offered it to the woman. When he pulled his wrist away, he locked eyes with her, "Forget this ever happened. Get back into your car, now."

The blonde nodded and hurried back to her car while Elijah turned back to Claire.

He walked forward and grabbed her gently by the arm leading her back into the woods. When they were very well deep amongst the trees, he stopped to face her again.

"I'm sorry," she whispered wiping her mouth clean. "I lost myself."

"It happens from time to time," he said softly. "When I arrived at your house and found your room in shambles, I got worried."

Her eyes met his. "What were you doing there?"

"I discovered as I was going through some of Niklaus' belongings a few things that I thought you might want. He kept some journals, drawings, and such that contained his affections for you." His face was sad for a moment.

"I'm so sorry, Elijah. I didn't protect him like I told you that I would," she said crying now. "I tried. I really tried."

She was suddenly pulled into his arms. "There was nothing that you could have done to save my brother." He pulled back and placed a kiss to her forehead. "I left the box of his belongings for you in your bedroom."

"You're leaving," she concluded.

He nodded, "Rebekah plans on staying behind for a bit, but Kol is long gone and I have no use for this place anymore."

She nodded, "I feel the same." With a small smile, she added. "You'll keep in touch?"

Nodding, he smiled slightly, "Of course. Go straight home. What I saw back there isn't you, Claire. Don't lose who you truly are."

Swallowing, she nodded again and watched as the Original walked away and into the darkness. She turned away and headed in the opposite direction not even noticing the figure that was standing off in the distance watching her.

When she returned to house, she found that Stefan and Damon were still not home and she appreciated the solitude. She hurried back up the stairs to her bedroom where she found the box that Elijah had mention sitting on her bed.

She walked over to peer inside and saw three bounded books sitting on top. She pulled one out and pushed the box aside to take a seat on the mattress.

Her fingers brushed over the leather binding before opening the cover. On the first page, she saw the words _My Life without Her_. She quickly turned the page and saw the page filled with his handwriting and with sketches of her face. Her eyes traced over every inch of the page before her eyes read the words. It was journal entry and it was dated _1922_.

_It's been nearly a month since I left her behind in Chicago. A month since I was in her magnificent presence. I miss her. I yearn for her._

Closing her eyes, she quickly closed the book not able to read on. It was just too soon. So, instead she went through some of the other contents of the box. Her eyes noticed a piece of paper sticking out of a sketchbook.

She pulled the book out and opened it up letting, what she now saw as envelope, fall into her lap. Her eyes took in the sketch of her which depicted her the way that she had looked during the Twenties Decade Dance.

Her eyes went to the envelope and she reached for it, pulling a folded piece of paper from it.

Unfolding the paper, she released a few calming breaths before reading it.

_My dearest Claire,_

_If you are reading this then you must have decided not to join me. I understand your hesitations. I have done some bad things these past few months and I gather that they were too terrible for you to forgive. And if you are reading this and I have left town then you have not stopped taking the vervain; therefore, shall never know about our past._

_We had lovely past. While our moments together were brief, they held an everlasting impact on me, Claire. Never did I think that I would ever care about anyone other than myself. I don't let a lot of people get to know the real me. The moment that I first met you something magical happened. I felt like _me_ again. Not the evil bastard out to wreak havoc on the world, but the man that I used to be. While I'll never be that man again nor will I ever be someone worthy of being with you, I wanted to thank you for that._

_Realizing now that we will never be, I want you to know that I have been forever changed by you. No one will ever have my heart like you do. I will go living my existence like I had done before you and that is alone for I shall never find another woman who will compel me as much as you have. It will always be you, love. You and only you._

_I am very sorry for the pain that I have caused you. _

_With the utmost respect,_

_Klaus._

When she finished reading, she wiped away her tears and stared at it for a few moments. He really, truly cared for her. It was very evident in this letter. She was sure that if she were to look through the journals that there would be even more truth to that.

She tucked the letter back into the envelope and placed it back into the sketchbook where it was found then stared blankly out the window.

She was unsure of how to go back to living her life before all of this. Did she really want to deal with the Stefan/Elena/Damon drama?

Deciding that she would rather be anywhere but here, she climbed to her feet and headed for her closet. She pulled out a suitcase and began cramming some clothing inside it. She didn't pack much. She didn't really see the need.

Grabbing the few things from the box on her bed, she put those items into another bag and then she turned toward the door and walked out. She stopped by the bathroom to grab a few things before heading down the stairs and out the door.

When she loaded up her car, she turned to glance back at the boarding house. It had been over a year since Stefan and her arrival back to Mystic Falls. It seemed like a lifetime ago. She felt different now.

She knew that she should've left a note for her brothers, but she found that she didn't care. She was finally thinking only of herself for once.

Without another thought, she climbed into her car and started the engine. Minutes later, she was driving out of town and passing by the town sign. With a sigh, she thought, _Goodbye Mystic Falls. I won't be missing you._

**The End**

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